History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism

A History of Modern Yoga

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A History of Modern Yoga

Patanjali and Western Esotericism

Elizabeth De Michelis

continuum

Front cover photograph: by Andrea Rollefson, Ascent magazine, Fall 2001. Thephoto, shot in New York, USA, depicts a typical Modern Postural Yoga Class.

Back cover illustration: Add. Ms. 24099. Reproduced by permission of TheBritish Library. Khecari-mudrd, lit. "Space-walking seal": An advanced yogicpractice in which the tongue is thrust upwards. This mudrd pierces the knot ofRudra (rudra granthi) in the central channel (susumnd nddi) causing the medi-tator to experience union (samddhi) and taste the nectar of immortality. Thisleads to a state in which one roams in the inner spiritual sky (Grimes 1996: 166).

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First published 2004 by ContinuumFirst paperback edition 2005© Elizabeth De Michelis 2005Reprinted 2006, 2008

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-8264-8772-8 (paperback)

Typeset by YHT Ltd, LondonPrinted on acid-free paper and bound in Great Britain byMPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall

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Contents

List of figures and tables xAcknowledgements xiiList of abbreviations xv

Introduction 1What is Modern Yoga? 1Modern Yoga scholarship 6Some notes on terminology 7Esoteric myopia 9Description of contents 12

PART I: THE PREHISTORY OF MODERN YOGA

1. Roots of Modern Yoga 19"Esotericism" as academic field of research 19The worldview of Western esotericism 21

(1 to 6): Basic characteristics of esotericism 21(1) Correspondences 21(2) Living nature 22(3) Imagination and mediations 22(4) Experience of transmutation 23(5) The praxis of concordance 23(6) Transmission 23

(7) Reformation "Spiritualism" 24(8) Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought 25

Esotericism in classical and modern Hinduism 27

v

A HISTORY OF MODERN YOGA

Mysticism, cult and sect 31From mysticism to cultic milieu 34New Age religion vs. New Age movement 35Classical Hinduism vs. modern Hindu elaborations 36The beginnings of Neo-Hinduism 38Esoteric East-West cross-influences in historical perspective 40The Brahmo Samaj and the occultization of Neo-Vedanta 45

2. The religious foundations of Modern Yoga 51The turning point between classical Hinduism and

Neo-Vedanta: Rammohan Roy's Neo-VedanticEnlightenment 52

Neo-Vedantic Enlightenment to Neo-Vedantic Romanticism 56Tagore's intellectual background 57Tagore's doctrinal and ritual innovations 58

Intuitional epistemology 59Evolutionary spirituality 59"Scientific religion" 62Initiation 64

From Neo-Vedantic Romanticism to Neo-Vedantic "spiritualism" 67The Eastern outreaches of Western esotericism 68India responds as 'esoteric Other' 71Sen as charismatic Neo-Vedantic leader 74Sen's religious career 77The influence of American Transcendentalism 80Sen's proto Modern Yoga 83

3. Vivekananda and the emergence of Neo-Vedanticoccultism 91Vivekananda: spiritual hero or esoteric seeker? 92Vivekananda's esoteric biography I: India 93

Childhood 93Schooling 94Brahmo 97Freemason 100Ramakrishna and Vivekananda 100Ramakrishna's spiritual transmission 104After Ramakrishna 108

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CONTENTS

Vivekananda's esoteric biography II: the West 110Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions 110Vivekananda's assimilation of Western occultism 112

Harmonial Religion: Metaphysical beliefs andmesmerism 114

The demand for "occult" practices at the end of thenineteenth century 116

Vivekananda's 'turn West' 119Vivekananda's '4 yogas' model 123

4. "God-realization" and "Self-realization" inNeo-Vedanta 127Pervasiveness of Vivekananda's Neo-Vedantic influences 127Centrality of the "realization" theme 128Ultimate aims: Vedantic and Neo-Vedantic 129Classical interpretations of dtma- and brahmajndna 130Early attempts at translation and contextualization:

Rammohan Roy 133Subsequent attempts at translation and contextualization

by Brahmo leaders and others 135Ramakrishna and his interpreters: the elaboration of a

sampraddya 140

PART II: MODERN YOGA THEORY AND PRACTICE

5. Vivekananda's Raja Yoga (1896): Modern Yogaformulated 149Raja Yoga: style, structure and overall contents 149An emanationist cosmology 153

Three gunas vs. two evolutes 155Vivekananda's Naturphilosophie 156

The Prdna Model 159Prdna as vitalistic element 160Prdna as healing agent 163Prdndydma as healing technique 165Samddhi as psychological "superconsciousness" 168

The Samddhi Model 168The influence of Metaphysical beliefs 169The influence of Functionalist psychology 171

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Psychological proprioception as practice 173The Neo-Advaitic component 175Yogic experience in classical Vedanta 176The Yoga Sutras: a rdjayoga textbook? 178

6. Twentieth-century developments of Modern Yoga 181Alternative medicine and New Age religiosity 183

New Age healing... 184... and personal growth 185

Towards a typology of Modern Yoga 187The development of Modern Postural Yoga: 1950s to date 190

Popularization: 1950s to mid-1970s 191Consolidation: mid-1970s to late 1980s 192Acculturation: late 1980s to date 193

The lyengar School of Modern Postural Yoga 194B. K. S. lyengar: his life and work 195Popularization 198Consolidation 200Acculturation 205

7. Theory and practice of lyengar Yoga 208lyengar's Modern Yoga trilogy 208Light on Yoga (1966): the Popularization period 210

MPY practice as psychosomatic self-help 211MPY theory in Light on Yoga 218Two specific aspects of Modern Yoga theory 219

Neo-Veddntic ethics 220The concept of 'self-improvement' 221

"Self-realization": a chameleonic concept 223Light on Prdndyama (1981): the Consolidation period 224

Fully-fledged Neo-Hathayoga 225MPY theory and practice in Light on Prdndyama:

the consolidation of the Prdna Model 230Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1993):

the Acculturation period 236The Samddhi Model in lyengar's Neo-Hathayoga 236The Neo-Visistadvaita synthesis 243

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CONTENTS

8. Conclusion: Modern Postural Yoga as healing ritualof secular religion 248MPY in everyday life 248The MPY practice session 251MPY as healing ritual of secular religion 252

(i) The separation phase (introductory quietening time in MPY) 252(ii) The transition phase (MPY practice proper) 254(iii) The incorporation phase (final relaxation in MPY) 257

Bibliography 261

Index 275

ix

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1: Plaque at the entrance of the Yoga Institute; SantaCruz, Bombay, India xviiFigure 2: Rammohan Roy, c. 1832. Portrait by H. P. Briggs(1791-1844) 41Figure 3: Debendranath Tagore at age 45 48Figure 4: Keshubchandra Sen in 1859 76Figure 5: Keshubchandra Sen at prayer 85Figure 6: Keshubchandra Sen at Simla, 1883 88Figure 7: Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago Parliament ofReligions, September 1893 95Figure 8: Swami Vivekananda in London, December 1896 98Figure 9: Swami Vivekananda in Madras, February 1897 102Figure 10: Frontispiece of the 1896 edition of SwamiVivekananda's Raja Yoga 152Figure 11: Reproduction of pages 330-1 from B. K. S.lyengar's Light on Yoga 213Figure 12: Reproduction of pages 332-3 from B. K. S.lyengar's Light on Yoga 215Figure 13: Reproduction of pages 74-5 from B. K. S. lyengar'sLight on Prdndyama 228Figure 14: Reproduction of pages 104-5 from B. K. S.lyengar's Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 240

X

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Tables

Table 1: Developments in modern Hinduism 37Table 2: Ideological developments of Neo-Vedanta in theBrahmo Samaj 46Table 3: Typology of Modern Yoga 188

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Acknowledgements

Over the years I have received much encouragement and support,both academic and otherwise, from many different quarters.

I wish first of all to thank all my family for their ongoing, manifoldcontributions to this project, and for unfailingly being there when Ineeded them. My mother, brother, sister and paternal aunts havebeen especially close as I was going through the period of researchthat led to the writing of this book: their support - material, practical,emotional, intellectual and beyond - has been truly invaluable. I amsorry that my father died years before this project was completed. Ashe was interested in Modern Yoga in his youth, I am sure he wouldhave enjoyed reading this book.

I am grateful to the Modern Yoga schools and practitioners thathelped me and made me feel welcome during my periods of researchand fieldwork in Europe and in India. This applies particularly,though in no way exclusively, to the lyengar School of Yoga and tothe British Wheel of Yoga. I would like to extend personal thanks toMr B. K. S. lyengar for his life's work in the field of yoga, and to all ofthe staff at the Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI)in Pune for their patience and support during my period of workthere. Closer to home, I would like to acknowledge Sasha Ferrymanfor reliably guiding me through the practical intricacies and simpli-cities of lyengar Yoga in Cambridge. I also wish to acknowledge theBritish Wheel of Yoga for providing stimulating teaching and trainingduring earlier phases of my research. This institution's hard work andits commitment to the cultivation of yoga are widely recognized inBritish Modern Yoga circles and abroad. My friend and teacher MrsVelta Wilson, herself a founding member of the British Wheel of

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Yoga, deserves special mention in this context: I wish to thank herwarmly for her counsel and support throughout the years.

While I thoroughly enjoyed all my studies up to BA level, I onlycame to academic research work relatively late in life. I was mostfortunate to carry out the initial part of my post-graduate studies atthe School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,under the guidance of very gifted and generous teachers: Dr JuliaLeslie, who took special care in guiding and supporting my earlyefforts, Dr John Marr and Professor Alexander Piatigorsky. I stillremember their lectures and seminars with relish.

The University of Cambridge and especially the Faculty of Divinityand the Faculty of Oriental Studies have provided an ideal setting formy further research work. I am greatly indebted to Dr John Smithand Dr Eivind Kahrs, whose Sanskrit courses I attended in the mid-1990s. Most of all, however, I am indebted to my doctoral super-visor, Mrs Sita Narasimhan. Working with her has been both a priv-ilege and a pleasure: her comprehensive knowledge of several relevantfields, her pedagogic skills and her unstinting support were essentialpoints of reference as my research progressed, and remain so evennow. I have especially benefited from her astounding knowledge ofEnglish, Sanskrit and more generally Indian languages and traditionsof learning, and from her in-depth understanding of East-West cul-tural discourses and milieus. I am further very grateful to Dr JuliusLipner, who supported my early research ideas, and who has been avalued source of counsel and guidance throughout the years. I alsothank him for launching the Dharam Hinduja Institute of IndieResearch (DHIIR) in 1995. This Institute, established through thegenerosity of the Hinduja Foundation, concerns itself with carryingout research on Indie subjects in ways that may benefit both thescholarly community and society at large. As I have always beensympathetic towards the DHIIR's aims, I was delighted to be selectedto take over the DHIIR's Directorship in January 2000. As DHIIRDirector I would like to thank most warmly the Institute's AdvisoryCouncil, Research Groups, research projects collaborators and, lastbut far from least, my very capable and supportive staff for theirongoing support and manifold contributions. I would especially liketo thank Mr S. P. Hinduja for making time in his very busy scheduleto discuss my proposals and ideas from time to time, and ProfessorsUrsula King and John Brockington for supporting and encouragingmy work in various ways.

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The DHIIR was the first research institute to be established underthe auspices of the Faculty of Divinity's Centre for Advanced Reli-gious and Theological Studies (CARTS). I wish to thank all my col-leagues and collaborators at CARTS and at the Faculty for theircontribution in making my years of employment here so productive,enjoyable and stimulating. Most of all I wish to thank Dr DavidThompson, Director of CARTS, for his thoughtful guidance and forproviding ideal conditions for the DHIIR's work to flourish.

xiv

List of abbreviations

Primary sources

CW The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda; nine volumes(Arabic number after CW indicates volume number)N.B. Vivekananda's Raja Yoga is found in Vol. 1, pages119-314.

YS Yoga Sutras of PataiijaliSanskrit text: Patanjali (1904)English text: Yardi (1979)

Books by or about B. K. S. lyengar

AY lyengar, B. K. S. (1993 [1985]), The Art of Yoga. Indus,New Delhi.

GY Yogacharya B. K. S. lyengar's 70th Birthday Celebrations(1990), 70 Glorious Years of Yogacharya B. K. S. lyengar:Commemoration Volume. Light on Yoga Research Trust,Bombay.

ILW B. K. S. lyengar 60th Birthday Celebration Committee(1987), lyengar: His Life and Work. Timeless Books,Porthill, Idaho.

LOP lyengar, B. K. S. (1983 [1981]), Light on Prdndyama:Prdndyama Dipika. Unwin Paperbacks, London.

LOY lyengar, B. K. S. (1984 [1966]), Light on Yoga: YogaDipika. Unwin Paperbacks, London.

LOYSP lyengar, B. K. S. (1993), Light on the Yoga Sutras of

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Patahjali: Pdtanjala Yoga Pradipikd. The Aquarian Press,London.

YV lyengar, B. K. S. (1988), Yoga Vrksa: The Tree of Yoga. FineLine Books, Oxford.

Modern Yoga types (cf. Table 3, page 188) and institution

MDY Modern Denominational YogaMMY Modern Meditational YogaMPsY Modern Psychosomatic YogaMPY Modern Postural YogaBWY British Wheel of Yoga

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Figure 1 Plaque at the entrance of the Yoga Institute; Santa Cruz, Bombay,India. (See note 1, Chapter 6; author's photograph)

xvii


Introduction

With no effort from us many forms of the Hindu religion are spreading far and wide,and these manifestations have taken the form of Christian science, theosophy, andEdwin Arnold's Light of Asia.

(Swami Vivekananda CW 7: 287)

What is Modern Yoga?

What is this yoga? This was the question that started haunting me inthe late 1980s, a decade after attending my first 'yoga classes'. I hadasked myself the question before, but it had not haunted me. Asanyone who has carried out a serious piece of research will know, Ieventually became obsessed with it. Only, as I was progressing, myquestions became more precise. And more numerous. What is clas-sical yoga (i.e. the older forms of yoga from the Indian subcontinent,consisting of a pluri-millenarian tradition)? What is Classical Yoga1

(i.e. yoga as outlined in Patanjali's seminal Sanskrit text, the YogaSutras (c. second century CE) and in the related commentatorial tra-dition)? How does Modern Yoga differ from these older forms? Andhow did it develop its peculiar characteristics? These last two ques-tions, eventually, became the key ones underpinning my research. Myexperiences of yoga as practised in Europe in fact told me (at timesrationally, at times intuitively) that what I was presented with wasquite different from classical forms of yoga.

Soon there were further questions that needed to be addressed inorder to answer the central ones. How does 'yoga' differ from'meditation'? And why are there so many kinds of 'yoga' even among

1. Regarding 'classical' and 'Classical' terminology see also note 10 here and Chapter 1.

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the modern forms? How do they differ from each other and what dothey have in common? Who contributed to create Modern Yoga aswe have it today? Would it be possible to produce a typology ofModern Yoga forms showing how they relate to each other? Why areindividuals across the world attracted by these modern forms ofyoga? And why has such a foreign discipline taken root in so-calledWestern societies? Is it a foreign discipline? And so on and so forth.As answers emerged, of course, even more interesting questions arose.They are still coming.

Preliminary answers to these questions will be found between thecovers of this book. Indeed, the present volume as a whole may beseen as a definition of Modern Yoga, especially since this corpus ofdisciplines and beliefs has never before been presented or discussed asa discrete historical phenomenon or as a self-standing conceptualcategory. For the benefit of those who need a point of reference at thevery beginning, however, I will propose forthwith a brief and basicdefinition of Modern Yoga.

The expression 'Modern Yoga' is used as a technical term to referto certain types of yoga that evolved mainly through the interactionof Western individuals interested in Indian religions and a number ofmore or less Westernized Indians over the last 150 years. It maytherefore be defined as the graft of a Western branch onto the Indiantree of yoga. Most of the yoga currently practised and taught in theWest, as well as some contemporary Indian yoga, falls into thiscategory. Being only one and a half centuries old, it may well be theyoungest branch of the tree of yoga, and it seems to be the only one tohave stretched across the oceans to continents other than Asia. Thedefinition 'Modern' seems precise enough to describe its age (itemerged in modern times) and geographico/cultural spread (it is pre-eminently found in developed countries and urban milieus world-wide). It also seems open-ended enough to allow for further definitionand elaboration (based on De Michelis 2002: 3).

A clarification about chronology. There are two crucial datesregarding the beginnings of Modern Yoga: 1849 and 1896. Theformer, relating to the 150 years mentioned in the previous para-graph, refers to what seems to be the first recorded affirmation, by aWesterner, that he considered himself a yoga practitioner - after afashion. This was the Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who,in a letter to a friend, wrote: "... I would fain practice the yoga

2

INTRODUCTION

faithfully. To some extent, and at rare intervals, even I am a yogi."2

Up to that point the West had known about (and had been interestedin) yoga and yogins, but these were seen as altogether 'other'. Yoga,that is, was in no way perceived as an option to be taken up byWesterners; it was a phenomenon observed, studied and reportedabout in third person, as it were. There had, of course, been a fewcases of Westerners 'going native' and becoming absorbed in Oriental(including monastic) cultures3 - but that was another matter. InThoreau's case yoga was taken up by a Westerner while remaining aWesterner. There is no need to examine the nature of Thoreau's yogiccommitments here: what is significant is the cultural trend epitomizedby his words: Westerners were starting to perceive 'y°ga' as some-thing they could engage in, not just as something 'out there'.

This religio-cultural trend became a very important and influentialmotif of East-West exchanges from about the last quarter of thenineteenth century onwards - possibly the most important religio-cultural trend, from the Indian point of view, if yoga is understood inits broadest definition. This trend took tangible form in 1896, oursecond important date, when the Indian reaction to Western mis-sionary efforts took shape in the counter-missionary project of theyoung and influential Swami Vivekananda. The date marks thepublication of his volume on Raja Yoga. The great impression thatthe Swami made at the 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions and thesubsequent establishment of the Ramakrishna movement4 are usuallyreferred to as his main achievements. One of the theses of this book,however, is that his maybe less sensational but actually more long-lasting and productive achievement was the shaping of Modern Yoga,of which Raja Yoga is the seminal text. In it, Vivekananda carried outa major re visitation of yoga history, structures, beliefs and practicesand then proceeded to operate a translation (often semantic as well aslinguistic) of this 'reformed' yoga into something quite different fromclassical Hindu approaches. Vivekananda's 'reshaping' of the yogatradition - which of course he did not operate in a vacuum, but with

2. Quoted in Christy (1932: 185, 201), who refers (ibid.: 327, 358) to The Writings ofHenry David Thoreau, ed. Bradford Torrey (Walden edn) Boston and New York:(Houghton Mifflin, 1906), section on Writings, VI: 175.

3. See, for example, the story of Csoma de Koros (Fields 1992: 283-5).4. Following Jackson (1994: xii-xiii, 28-32), the expression 'Ramakrishna movement' will

be used as a collective name to indicate all the various institutions initiated by Vive-kananda in India and in the West, and continued by the monks of the Ramakrishnaorder.

3


the help, contribution, support and participation of many individuals,East and West, before and after him - is discussed at length in thepresent book.

After 1896 Modern Yoga flourished both in India and abroad. Atthe beginning of the twenty-first century it has become a globalphenomenon, though its presence is in the main limited to developedurban communities.5 The socio-historical reasons that lie behind thisgeographical spread are also discussed in the book, which furtheranalyses how, from Vivekananda's time onward, Modern Yogadeveloped in many different ways and directions. Because of suchvariety, and considering the amount of in-depth analysis of theoriesand practices that I wished to carry out, it would have been impos-sible to discuss the whole of Modern Yoga in depth.

The obvious way forward was to select the type of yoga that I wasmost familiar with, viz. Modern Postural Yoga (or MPY, i.e. thosestyles of yoga practice that put a lot of emphasis on dsanas or yogapostures; in other words the more 'physical' or gymnastic-like type ofyoga).6 In this context lyengar Yoga, arguably the most influentialschool of Postural Yoga to date, emerged as the obvious case study toconcentrate on: I had a good overall knowledge of its teachings,practices and institutional structures, but I also had enough knowledgeof other MPY schools to be able to draw parallels and/or comparisons.

All that was left to do after thus demarcating the field was to studySanskrit, some yoga texts and the relevant (mainly Hindu) traditionsof yoga as much as I could in the relatively limited time that I coulddedicate to research. It would in fact not have been tenable, in myview, to discuss a 'new5 that kept harking back to 'the old' withouthaving at least some knowledge of the latter. How could I evaluatesome Modern Yoga schools' claims that they are passing on 'the ori-ginal message of the Yoga Sutras' or, more generally, of yoga, if I didnot know what the Yoga Sutras and the yoga tradition were about?

I have been very lucky (some would say stubborn enough) to findthe time and the resources to carry out this work. There are ModernYoga practitioners throughout the world who would love to do thesame but, for whatever reason, are unable to do so: I have met anumber of them during periods of fieldwork and in academic circles. I

5. 'Ashrams' (see note 34, Chapter 2) and yoga centres located in isolated places are usuallyoffshoots of the urban institutions, and tend to retain the same type of culture.

6. A typology of Modern Yoga forms, including MPY, is presented in Chapter 6 andsummarized in Table 3.

4

INTRODUCTION

do hope that my work, despite its limitations, will be of interest andof benefit to them, as well as to academics and students of Indiestudies and of modern and contemporary religiosity, many of whommust have asked themselves the same questions I have tried to answerat one time or another. It goes without saying that comments, criti-cism, corrections and any useful piece of information that readersmay be able to contribute will be gratefully received.

Before we plunge into more technical matters I would like tocomment on what may be perceived as some iconoclastic aspects ofthe present book. The ways in which I discuss some much-lovedIndian holy men or 'spiritual leaders', such as Debendranath Tagore,Keshubchandra Sen or Swami Vivekananda, may be perceived, attimes, as somewhat less than respectful. This is not so, as I am con-vinced that all the people I discuss were sincerely committed tofinding the 'right' answers to their questions, and that they wereattempting to shape their lives in the light of the highest ethicalprinciples. However, I also do perceive them as men, and therefore asfallible and in some ways limited. They were also being swept andtossed, as we all are, by the waves of history - especially so, I wouldargue, Swami Vivekananda. One of my strategies has actually been toattempt, as much as possible, to identify with their human predica-ment in order to understand their thought, motivations and actionsfrom their point of view. I was also actively seeking to piece together,I will admit that much, the more 'hidden' or untold parts of theirhistories - though this was done not out of love of controversy, butbecause early in my research I found out that in order to answer myquestions it was essential for me to do so.

I have also stated what I perceive to be some truths about ModernYoga and Modern Yoga schools that may not be to everyone's liking.But there was no malice in my stating them. Quite the contrary: if Imay say so without sounding patronizing, I strongly believe that ifmore people were to study the history, roots and beliefs of ModernYoga more carefully (that is, among other things, by trying to exer-cise more intellectual discrimination), this could be of great benefitnot only to practitioners of Modern Yoga, but also to academics andintellectuals in general. Modern Yoga schools would do well toencourage their students to do so, and the Modern Yoga institutionsthat are well off could set an example by offering grants to study therelevant disciplines at graduate and post-graduate level. Seriousintellectual endeavours are often denigrated in the world of Modern

5


Yoga (which puts, as we shall see, great emphasis on an experientialepistemology), and if this trend is not redressed the discipline as awhole will remain lopsided.

Modern Yoga scholarship

It is true that something of a (mini) sub-field of Modern Yoga studies7

is at last beginning to emerge, so arguably the more in-depth dis-cussions advocated above may already have started to happen. This isa welcome development, and comes as a refreshing change frommany studies on yoga published earlier, which stopped short whenthey came to consider (historically, conceptually or in any other way)the phenomenon of Modern Yoga.

In this emerging field of study we find publications by Joseph Alter(2000, Part II; and forthcoming), who has been working on theIndian aspects of Modern Yoga from the historical and anthro-pological point of view. Silvia Ceccomori's book (2001) discussesModern Yoga in France: a look at the table of contents (accessed byInternet) shows that her coverage of the subject is quite compre-hensive and, it would appear, pre-eminently historical. She does,however, place her characters within an ideological framework, and Irejoice to see that she seems to have taken due notice of esoteric andoccultistic trends. Unfortunately it has not been possible to consultCeccomori's work before submitting the present typescript andtherefore I have not been able, sadly, to integrate her findings in mywork. Two of my earlier articles (De Michelis 1995; 2002) reflectattempts at demarcating and describing the field of Modern Yoga,with special attention to Modern Postural Yoga schools. In them, asin the present study, I approach my subject from the point of view ofthe history of (religious) ideas, and my methodology consists in tryingto synthetize data gathered from primary texts, historical records andfieldwork findings. Yet another contribution is Fuchs' treatment ofModern Yoga in Germany (1990), though, as in the case of Cecco-mori's publication, I only found out about this work too late to beable to consult it. Hasselle-Newcombe's brief study (2002) con-centrates on the contemporary picture, which is examined on thebasis of sociological paradigms. Strauss' work (1997; 2000; 2002a;

7. About the use of this label for other people's work, see below.

6

INTRODUCTION

2002b; 2003), finally, focuses on Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, hisDivine Life Society and on the career of some influential Sivanandadisciples. Her historical reconstructions are discussed from ananthropological point of view.

While it is very heartening to see the beginnings of more informed, in-depth discussions of Modern Yoga, it would be good to see morehumanities scholars participating in these endeavours. If this sub-field isto be built on firm foundations, the differences between modern andclassical manifestations of yoga must be plotted out in detail: thisrequires knowledge - mainly textual and historical - of both ancient andmodern/contemporary aspects of yogic disciplines and of their respectivesocial contexts, plus the will (and patience) to compare and contrastthem in systematic fashion. Without reliable landmarks of this sort itmay be difficult to progress beyond relatively basic levels of exploration.

Some notes on terminology

And now a few comments about the terminology employed in thepresent book. I referred above to "Modern Yoga studies". It goeswithout saying that the 'Modern Yoga' label may not be considereduseful and/or accurate by everyone. For convenience's sake, andbecause it has stood the test of time so far, I use it also to refer toother people's work, though they may well not employ it themselves.I would of course be open to review my thinking and terminology ifmore suitable labels, interpretative methodologies, or analytical toolswere to be proposed.

With reference to emic8 discussions on how to name modern and

8. Explaining the very useful methodological categories, originally appropriated byanthropologists from linguistics, and expressed by the terms 'emic' and 'etic', Hanegraaff(1996: 6-7) writes:

Emic denotes the 'intersubjective patterns of thought and symbolic associations of thebelievers' or, expressed more simply, the "believer's point of view". An accuratepresentation of the religion under study as expressed by the believers themselves mustbe the basis of research. On the part of the researcher, the reconstruction of this emicperspective requires an attitude of empathy which excludes personal biases as far aspossible. Scholarly discourse about religion, on the other hand, is not emic but etic.This means that it may involve types of language, distinctions, theories and inter-pretive models which are considered appropriate by scholars on their own terms.Scholars may introduce their own terminology and make theoretical distinctionswhich are different from those of the believers themselves. The final results of scho-larly research should be expressed in etic language, and formulated in such a way as topermit criticism and falsification both by reference to the emic material and as regardstheir coherence and consistency in the context of the general etic discourse.

7


contemporary forms of yoga, I can report that these have beenongoing. In itself, this is sign of a widespread intuition that 'this'(modern) yoga is not quite the same as 'that' (classical) yoga. Veryoften the label given to what is commonly called 'y°ga' m developedsocieties, if further qualified, is hathayoga. This is not altogetherimprecise, as it is true that Modern Postural Yoga draws heavily fromhathayoga doctrines and practices. MPY is, however, also very dif-ferent. As readers will find out (Chapter 7), I do take the hathayogiccontents of Modern Yoga into due consideration (though only as oneof the elements of the standard MPY make-up). But because 'this'hathayoga is different from 'that', I call it (and define it as) Neo-Hathayoga.

Another question relating to emic issues of terminology is that of'meditation': in common English usage (i.e. in Modern Yoga),9 'yoga'is 'postural yoga', and 'meditation' is 'sitting meditation' - the icon ofthe latter being the cross-legged padmasana ("lotus pose") of theyogin and of the Buddha. In classical Hinduism (and in Indian lan-guages) we find much less of a gap between 'yoga' and 'meditation' -indeed the first linguistic association that speakers of Indian lan-guages make upon hearing the word 'y°ga' ls with dhydna, "medi-tation". The gap found in English is an interesting phenomenon andone that would be worth exploring in detail from a linguistic point ofview. As far as my analysis was concerned, however, such a linguisticgap signalled the need to keep the 'postural' and the 'meditational'separate (at least in some cases) in order to reproduce accurately whatI encountered in the field. Thus the reader will also find 'ModernMeditational Yoga' in my typology of Modern Yoga (see note 6here); and while many Modern Yoga practitioners practise bothPostural and Meditational Yoga, at some level the two may well be(and are) perceived as distinct practices.

Two important sets of terms are employed quite extensively in thepresent study: esotericism and occultism on the one hand and cultand sect (and the related concept of 'cultic milieu'} on the other. Allare defined and discussed, with reference to the relevant secondarysources, in Chapter 1. What I would like to stress here is that they areused as purely technical terms. While they can often (especially insome quarters) be perceived as denigratory terms, this is not at all the

9. English, by the way, can be stated to be the language of Modern Yoga. This is a clearindication of its cultural roots.

8

INTRODUCTION

way they will be used here. I simply found them to be essentialanalytical tools for the purposes of my work.

And, to conclude this section, a word about 'Orient', 'Orientalism'and related terms. The present book has nothing to say about the'Orientalism' debate initiated by Edward Said (1978). When refer-ence is made to 'Orientalism' or 'British Orientalism', the readershould bear in mind that the labels adopted are based on DavidKopf's volume on British Orientalism (1969) and on the BrahmoSamaj (1979), used quite extensively to define the historical back-ground of the events narrated in Part I.

Mention of the historical circumstances which acted as a backdropto the emergence and development of Modern Yoga brings the dis-cussion to more strictly scholarly concerns. As I was carrying out apreliminary review of the Modern Yoga field I found out, with somesurprise, that an important cultural strand - the influence of Westernesotericism - had been all but neglected in the discussions of mosthistorians. Had this strand been of relevance only to the emergenceand development of Modern Yoga, that would have been under-standable: as previously pointed out, Modern Yoga studies are onlyin their infancy. Western esotericism, or rather the dialogue betweenesotericists East and West, however, has also played a key role in theshaping of modern forms of Hinduism, and this is a rather moremomentous role to play. Because of this, it seemed important to bringto the attention of my colleagues what I came to call 'esoteric myo-pia'. The following section, discussing this topic from the point ofview of Modern Yoga, also highlights some of the ways in which thislimitation has affected the study of Hinduism.

Esoteric myopia

Modern Yoga draws conceptual models, themes, terminology andimagery from the classical Hindu tradition,10 but is essentially rootedin the encounter between tradition and modernity of which the

10. For a discussion of what is meant here by 'classical Hindu tradition' see section onClassical Hinduism vs. modern Hindu elaborations in Chapter 1. The concept orcategory of 'Hinduism' is a notoriously controversial one. For an overview of con-tributions to this debate, and for his own appraisal of the problem see Sweetman(forthcoming). Sweetman's contribution is worthy of notice as it steers a well-balancedaacourse between the Scylla of uncompromising 'Orientalist' interpretations and theCharybdis of what may be seen as ultimately self-defeating forms of radical decon-structivism.

9


British domination of India was the first example in history. AsHalbfass notes, since Rammohan Roy's time (1774-1833)

it has become increasingly obvious that the European, i.e., primarilyBritish, presence in India was not just another case of foreign invasionand domination, or of cross-cultural, interreligious "encounter".Instead, it was an encounter between tradition and modernity, i.e., anexposure to new forms of organization and administration, to unpre-cedented claims of universality and globalization, to rationalization,technology, and a comprehensive objectification of the world. It alsomeant the advent of a new type of objectification of the Indian tradi-tion itself, an unprecedented exposure to theoretical curiosity andhistorical "understanding," and to interests of research and intellectualmastery. (1988: 217)

As the same author further remarks, the Indian response to Europe"has many levels and facets" (ibid.). Numerous aspects of this East-West encounter have been explored in greater or lesser depth. Onecrucial interlocutor in this multifarious dialogue, however, has beenconsistently overlooked, namely Western esotericism. This worldviewor form of thought has played an especially important role in reli-gious matters, and its influence has been pervasive in certain modernre-elaborations of Hinduism, including Modern Yoga. This oversighthas left a gap in the arguments and analyses of many otherwisevaluable and accurate scholarly discussions relating to this subject.

An interesting example of this is provided by Raymond Schwab(1984: 8) who comments that 1875 marks the close of a "heroic age",covering the previous hundred years, during which the Orient was'rediscovered' by the West. He then mentions that the end of this erawas marked by two opposite events. The first was the foundation of theParisian Ecole des Hautes Etudes in 1868, which included Indie studiesas part of its curriculum: Schwab comments that the new "integralhumanism" born of the Oriental Renaissance had gained officialrecognition (ibid.). The second event, "on which it is not necessary todwell" (ibid., emphasis added) was the appearance, in 1875, of theTheosophical Society. It is obvious that Schwab has little time foresoteric movements and for their modern manifestations. As he is moreinterested in the cultured aspects of Western literature and philosophythan in forms of belief and religiosity, however, the fact that he dis-regards these phenomena does not detract from his overall arguments.

More problematic, at least in principle, is the position of Mircea

10

INTRODUCTION

Eliade, who in his classic work on yoga (1973) does discuss, centrally,how key religio-philosophical topics have been shaped by centuries ofyoga history. As he introduces his subject and comments on themodern situation, however, he mentions the "detestable 'spiritual'hybridism inaugurated by the Theosophical Society and continued, inaggravated forms, by the countless pseudomorphs of our time" (ibid.:xix). Because he refuses to take into account such esoterico-occultisticgroups, however, he fails to explain or even comment upon how andwhy these phenomena affected the yogic tradition, when it could beargued that many of his readers would have wanted (or maybeneeded) to find out more about this very matter.

It is not Schwab's and Eliade's value judgements that are at stakehere, but the reasons that led them to these omissions. The fact thatthey obviously disliked these phenomena and refused to talk aboutthem or to acknowledge their formative influence is not going tomake them go away. And neither are the alarmist cries and partisancampaigns conducted by "anti-cult" movements engaged in fightingcertain (admittedly at times extreme and controversial) manifesta-tions of modern esotericism. As aspects of esotericism and occultismbecome pervasive in contemporary developed societies, however,maybe the time has come to look them straight in the face instead ofattacking them indiscriminately or, at the opposite end of the spec-trum of reaction, pretending that they are not there at all.

Such 'intellectual myopia' towards esotericism has been especiallypervasive in the study of modern and contemporary Hinduism. Arelatively recent example shows the type of misunderstanding (largelycaused by unawareness of esoteric trends) that the present work istrying at least in part to redress. In an interesting contribution dis-cussing the making of modern Hinduism Ninian Smart describes,very poignantly, the "new ideology" (1982: 140) that was at theforefront of this process. His usually penetrating analysis, however,becomes imprecise when he describes Ramakrishna and Vivekanandaas "pioneers of the new Hinduism" (ibid.: 144). While Vivekanandawas indeed such a "pioneer", Ramakrishna was not - even thoughthe official version of facts propagated by the Ramakrishna move-ment does represent him as such.11 As the present work argues, the

11. Jackson (1994: xi), in his otherwise excellent study, makes an even more impreciseassertion when he writes that the movement was "launched by the two men", i.e.Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Miller's rendition of events (1996: x-xi) is similarlyslanted in the direction of uncritical emic reports.

11


teachings made so popular by Vivekananda (including Modern Yoga)draw only superficially from Ramakrishna's own. If we look at his-torical and textual evidence, rather than at conventional narrativesand hagiographies, we will see that, notwithstanding his reliance onRamakrishna as ultimate spiritual exemplar, Vivekananda wasinheritor to the intellectual tradition of the Brahmo Samaj.

The type of construct proposed by Smart, in which Ramakrishna issaid to be a "pioneer" along with Vivekananda, highlights a confu-sion that is very widespread at both etic and emic levels of discourseEast and West, i.e. the confusion between 'traditional' (or 'classical',see Chapter 1) and 'modern' forms of Hinduism. Modern under-standings of Hinduism, and more specifically Neo-Vedanta, havebeen made to represent the whole of the Hindu tradition vis-a-visaudiences (both East and West) that had little chance to knowotherwise. Modern Western esotericism, and especially the occultisticbranch of it referred to as 'New Age religion' in the present work (seeChapter 1), has been especially receptive to Neo-Vedantic teachings,which it has eagerly absorbed and nurtured in its quest to findalternatives to Western mainstream culture.

It is in the interweaving and intersecting of these cultural trajec-tories that we find an interesting proliferation of Modern Yoga forms.Mapping them out and retracing their history can help us to under-stand the role played by esoteric currents in the shaping of modernHinduism, and how Neo-Vedanta and New Age religion haveinfluenced and supported each other in providing forms of religiositysuited to today's cultural temper. By exposing this so far Sarasvati-like invisible intellectual stream, certain differences between modernand more traditional forms of Hinduism, so far only sporadicallyacknowledged, should become more apparent. It is hoped that thecontents of this book may contribute to a more mature understandingnot only of Modern Yoga, but also of certain forms of Neo-Hinduism(including Neo-Vedanta), and of those forms of modern and con-temporary religiosity in which 'Oriental' and more specifically Indianinfluences play a part.

Description of contents

Chapter 1 defines the historical and sociological frameworks usedas analytical grids in the present work. Drawing mainly from

12

INTRODUCTION

Hanegraaff (1996) and, to a lesser extent, from sociological mate-rial (Troeltsch 1931; Campbell 1972), a relatively in-depth defini-tion of Western esotericism and of the historical developments thatthis form of thought has undergone from the Renaissance onward islooked into. The emergence of New Age religion at the turn of thenineteenth century (as opposed to the New Age movement, whichonly emerged in the 1970s), important because of its close con-nections with Neo-Vedanta, is briefly discussed in this context.

Moving next to an examination of modern Bengali intellectualcircles (mid-eighteenth century onwards), a case is made for a strong(if so far largely unacknowledged) presence of Western esoteric cur-rents in these milieus. The institutional and ideological growth of theBrahmo Samaj throughout the nineteenth century is examined fromthis specific angle, arguing that this modern religious movementshould be seen as the structural correlative of the Western ones thatcontributed to the elaboration of New Age religion. Indeed, New Agereligion and the Neo-Vedanta of the Brahmo Samaj, it is argued, havebeen in dialogue and in close creative contact from the last quarter ofthe nineteenth century onwards. One of the main and best-knownactors in this context was Swami Vivekananda, presented in Chapter2 as the chief ideological inheritor of a specific line of Brahmo leaders(Rammohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Keshubchandra Sen). Herespecial attention is paid to the emergence of proto Modern Yoga12

ideas and practices: it is in fact on the basis of his predecessors'elaborations that Vivekananda would start to experiment with yogicideas, eventually producing the earliest formulation of Modern Yogain his Raja Yoga (1896).

How Vivekananda came to compose this seminal text, powerfullybringing together Eastern and Western esoteric teachings, is narratedin Chapter 3. This chapter reconstructs the untold esoteric story ofthe famous Bengali 'patriot-prophet', highlighting various phases ofhis often tormented religious quest, his partaking of Brahmo life andideals and, eventually, his 'turn West'. It is at this point that theSwami proceeded to assimilate cutting-edge Western esotericism andoccultism, to then introduce them into Neo-Vedantic discourses.

12. The expression 'proto Modern Yoga' is used to signify those early strands of moder-nistic yoga-related speculation which were eventually brought together in fully-fledgedModern Yoga.

13


Modern Yoga was formulated in this context and, arguably, becameVivekananda's most influential and productive contribution tomodern forms of religiosity.

Chapter 4 analyses in some depth the two key Neo-Vedanticconcepts of "God-realization" and "Self-realization". Originallyinspired by the central Upanisadic terms brahmajhana and dtma-jnana, these English words progressively took on a semantic life oftheir own, and were eventually adopted (along with other Neo-Vedantic ideas and models) by New Age religion. As they were ela-borated in the same Brahmo milieus described in the precedingchapters, this chapter looks at the same historical period and place(nineteenth-century Bengal), but from the more abstract point of viewof the development of religio-philosophical ideas. Side connectionswith related speculative currents, such as those cultivated by theTheosophical Society and by sections of the medical professioninterested in hypnosis and mesmerism, are also referred to.

With Chapter 5 we move to an in-depth analysis of Modern Yogaproper. Because of the foundational role played by Vivekananda'sRaja Yogtf, this text is examined in detail. Vivekananda's work isbased on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the central text of the Yogadarsana (religio-philosophical or speculative "viewpoint"), and morespecifically on Patanjali's astdngayoga ("eight limbs of yoga", YS II.28 to III. 8). Mirroring the utilitarian and positivistic spirit of thetime, Vivekananda attempts to modernize these teachings and tomake them relevant, meaningful and useful to himself and to hiscontemporaries. Because he starts from largely 'disenchanted' pre-mises, he first of all attempts to rationalize yoga's cosmology in orderto make it more 'scientific'. This results in a gw<3s/-materialisticNaturphilosophie, which will influence the rest of his elaborations.Raja Yoga also introduces what we may call the two pillars ofModern Yoga theory and practice: the Prana Model and the SamddhiModel. Based to some extent on Patanjali's teachings, these twomodels consist mainly of Neo-Vedantic ideas mixed with Westernmesmeric, Harmonial (see Chapter 3) and psychological speculations.Often adopted by New Age groups or individuals sympathetic toOriental teachings, they will become a point of ongoing contact andinterchange, and at times of complete overlap, between Neo-Vedantaand New Age religion.

Chapter 6 provides an overview of the ways in which ModernYoga developed throughout the twentieth century, with special

14

INTRODUCTION

reference to the West and more specifically to Britain.13 Soon afterthe publication of Raja Yoga., 'specialist' styles of yoga started toemerge, emphasizing a variety of physical and mental practices, orspecific combinations of the two. A typology of forms of ModernYoga is provided in this context. The second part of the centurywitnessed the relatively fast expansion and, eventually, globalizationof Modern Yoga through the three phases of Popularization (1950sto mid-1970s), Consolidation (mid-1970s to late 1980s) and Accul-turation (late 1980s to date). As Modern Yoga became progressivelymore attuned to the secular, pragmatic and rationalistic temper of theWest, it was accommodated in a twofold manner: at the margins of'health and fitness' concerns on the one hand, and within the con-ceptual and institutional sphere of alternative medicine on the other.

At this point in the chapter we turn our attention to a case study ofthe lyengar School of Yoga, arguably the most influential school ofModern Postural Yoga to date. The last part of the chapter sets forththe history of the school and of its founder, B. K. S. lyengar, throughthe three periods of Popularization, Consolidation and Acculturation.

Following that, Chapter 7 examines the history of lyengar Yogafrom the more specifically religio-philosophical point of view. This isdone by analysing the most significant textual output of the school(lyengar 1984 [1966]; 1983 [1981]; 1993), and by combining thisinformation with extensive data gathered over more than two dec-ades of fieldwork in Modern Yoga circles. The modes and content oforal and written transmission of lyengar Yoga theory and practice arediscussed on this basis, and contextualized within the wider frame-work of Neo-Vedanta, New Age religion and, more generally,modern and contemporary forms of religiosity.

The concluding Chapter 8 refers more directly to fieldwork dataand to grassroots perceptions, uses and conceptualization of ModernPostural Yoga. These data are tentatively discussed within theframework of anthropological theories of ritual. The Modern Pos-tural Yoga session, in fact, whether engaged in under the guidance ofa teacher or by oneself, emerges as an excellent contemporaryexample of secularized healing ritual. The standard threefold sub-division of ritual events (separation, transition, and incorporation

13. It should be noted that while the proposed overview of Modern Yoga history is basedon a preponderance of British data, the developments discussed actually apply to thewhole of the English-speaking world, notwithstanding smaller variations at the level ofindividual teachers, schools and locality.

15


phases; van Gennep 1965 [1908]: 11) is obvious in its structure. Thepolyvalence of its theories and practices, however, allows eachpractitioner to adopt more or less secularized interpretations of thediscipline, thus making it especially suited to largely secularized anddeveloped multicultural, multifaith societies.

16

PARTI

The Prehistory of ModernYoga

We Hindus are specially endowed with, and distinguished for, the yoga faculty,which is nothing but this power of spiritual communion and absorption. Thisfaculty, which we have inherited from our forefathers, enables us to annihilate space... Waving the magic wand of yoga ... we command Europe to enter into the heartof Asia, and Asia to enter into the mind of Europe, and they obey us, and weinstantly realize within ourselves a European Asia and an Asiatic Europe, a com-mingling of oriental and occidental ideas and principles ... We summon ancientIndia to come into modern India with all her rishis and saints, her asceticism andcommunion and simplicity of character, and behold a transfiguration! The educatedmodern Hindu cast in Vedic mould!

(Keshubchandra Sen 1901: 484-5; lecture delivered in 1881)


1. Roots of Modern Yoga

What is common to both [of Rammohan Roy's] English and ... Bengali works is thefact that they (in contrast to Sankara) relate the contents and the study of theUpanisads to practical and earthly matters, in particular to social goals, and not justto the goal of liberation. Here, soteriology and utilitarianism are linked together; forall human goals (purusdrtha), and not just moksa, may be advanced through thestudy of the Upanisads and the Vedanta. Again and again, Rammohan emphasizesthat being a householder, living a practical life, having worldly, temporal goals is notincompatible with knowing the supreme brahman.

(Halbfass 1988: 209, original emphasis)

In order to understand how Modern Yoga developed and the role itplays in modern and contemporary forms of religion, we must firstexplain the intellectual and historical contexts from which it devel-oped. As stated in the Introduction, esotericism and modernizedforms of Hinduism played a key role in these developments: what ismeant by these terms will now be explained at some length.

"Esotericism" as academic field of research

We owe a debt of gratitude to continental scholars for establishingmodern esotericism and occultism as well-defined areas of academicstudy. Maybe it is because this happened only relatively recently(1990s) that 'esoteric myopia' could thrive. The French scholarAntoine Faivre pioneered the mapping of esotericism as a proper fieldof study and produced seminal material in this context.1 His

1. Faivre (1992; 1994). For a summary of his work on esotericism see Faivre (1997).

19


Sorbonne chair, dedicated to the study of esotericism,2 was uniqueuntil September 1999, when Faivre's younger collaborator WouterHanegraaff was appointed to a similar position at the University ofAmsterdam.3 My interpretation of esotericism (see below) is largelybased on the work of these scholars.

As Hanegraaff points out, the "beginnings of modern esotericism aregenerally located in the Florentine Platonic Academy founded byCosimo de' Medici in the second half of the 15th century andentrusted to the care of the young scholar Marsilio Ficino" (1996:388-9). But, as discussed by Faivre (1992), the historical and culturalroots of esotericism extend as far back as Greek and Roman anti-quity. In his seminal works, Faivre has defined the characteristics ofWestern esotericism, focusing especially on its Renaissance flourish-ing (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries). Building on Faivre's work,Hanegraaff (1996) has analysed the remaining four centuries ofesotericism from the point of view of their relevance to New Agereligion.

The publication of Hanegraaff's 1996 work on New Age religionhas been especially felicitous for the purposes of the present researchbecause many of the esoteric currents that contributed to the emer-gence of this type of religiosity are the same as those that contributedto the formation of Neo-Vedantic esotericism, and thus of ModernYoga. Indeed, it is precisely in Modern Yoga that we find a sub-stantial overlap of New Age and Neo-Vedantic beliefs and practices.As such, Modern Yoga became a live link between East and West: abridge through which personal, cultural, institutional and otherexchanges could take place.

The data and models drawn from the Faivre/Hanegraaff materialand from other secondary sources are used in the context of my owndata, based on protracted periods of fieldwork and on the study ofprimary sources, both classical and modern. Without Hanegraaff'stimely 1996 update, however, any analysis of the role played byesotericism over the last couple of centuries would have had to stand

2. More specifically to the History of Esoteric and Mystical Currents in Modern andContemporary Europe.

3. Where he is Professor in the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at theDepartment of Theology and Religious Studies. He is also supported by two colleagues:J.-P. Brach (specializing in older aspects of esotericism) and O. Hammer (specializing inmore modern forms).

20

1. ROOTS OF MODERN YOGA

on its own feet, a feat admirably managed by Godwin (1994), who,while providing us with an "intellectual history of occult and esotericcurrents in the English-speaking world ... from the early Romanticperiod to the early twentieth century", lamented that "[t]he subject ofesotericism is so new to humanistic scholarship that no conventionsyet exist for its treatment" (ibid.: xi). Thanks to the Faivre/Hanegraaff school this is no longer the case as we are acquiring viabletheoretical models to analyse esoteric contexts.4 A summary of thecharacteristics of the esoteric worldview as exposed by Hanegraaff(1996: 396-401) is presented below.

The worldview of Western esotericism

First of all our author points out that a concern with synthesizingreligion and science was already present in one of the main compo-nents of esotericism, Renaissance Hermeticism, and that it "hasremained characteristic of esotericism right up to the present day, andis the foundation of an ever-present ambiguity" (ibid.: 396-7). Thisongoing attempt at synthesis mirrors a deep-seated human unease vis-a-vis the deep epistemological split brought about by the rise ofmodernity within Western (and nowadays global) societies.

Hanegraaff then relates how Faivre defines esotericism: as a dis-tinct "form of thought" encompassing six characteristics, the firstfour, listed as 1 to 4 below, being intrinsic (they must be present, andare separated for analytical purposes, but are more or less insepar-able); the last two, listed as 5 and 6 below, being relative or non-intrinsic (they are frequently present, but need not be; ibid.: 397-8).

(1 to 6): Basic characteristics of esotericism

(1) Correspondences

"These correspondences, considered more or less veiled at first sight,are ... intended to be read and deciphered. The entire universe is a

4. This does not mean, of course, that the phenomena studied by Faivre and Hanegraaffwere not being studied before - these authors do employ earlier sources such as Corbinand Yates, just to mention two of the best-known scholars in the field (for more detailson their use of these and other sources see Hanegraaff (1996), Chapter 14). Faivre andHanegraaff, however, systematically define and analyse esotericism and occultism in theway summarized in the present chapter, and their analytical model proved very suitableand productive when applied to my research topic.

21


huge theater of mirrors, an ensemble of hieroglyphs to be decoded.Everything is a sign; everything conceals and exudes mystery; everyobject hides a secret."5 These correspondences are elaborated alongthe lines of visible-invisible, macrocosmic-microcosmic, etc. phe-nomena; and also along the lines of correspondences between nature(the cosmos), history and revealed texts: "the 'Book of Nature'contains the same truths as revealed in the Bible, and this corre-spondence may be brought to light by a visionary hermeneutics"(Hanegraaff 1996: 398).

(2) Living nature

"The vision of a complex, plural, hierarchical cosmos permeated byspiritual forces ... In combination with (1), this furnishes the theo-retical foundations for concrete implementation: various kinds ofmagical practice, 'occult medicine', theosophical soteriologies basedon the framework of alchemy, and so on, are based on it ... [t]heconcept is most properly described as a form of panentheism" (ibid.:398).

(3) Imagination and mediations

"The idea of correspondences implies the possibility of mediationbetween the higher and the lower world(s), by way of rituals, sym-bols, angels, intermediate spirits, etcetera. Imaginatio, far from beingmere fantasy, is regarded as an 'organ of the soul ...' [and] is themain instrument for attaining gnosis" (ibid.: 398-9). According toFaivre this is possibly the most useful element for demarcating eso-tericism from mysticism; the latter aspires to "the more or lesscomplete suppression of images and intermediaries because for [themystic] they become obstacles to the union with God". The esoteri-cist, on the other hand, "seems to take more interest in the inter-mediaries revealed to his inner eye through the power of his creativeimagination".6 But this distinction must clearly be understood asideal-typical, as in practice there is a great admixture of the twoattitudes (Hanegraaff 1996: 399).

5. Faivre (1994: 10) as quoted in Hanegraaff (1996: 398).6. Last two quotations: Faivre (1994: 12) as quoted in Hanegraaff (1996: 399).

22


(4) Experience of transmutation

If it did not have implications in praxis, the concept of esotericism"would hardly exceed the limits of a form of speculative spiri-tuality".7 And further, "the experience of transmutation is mostproperly regarded as pertaining to the salvific quest for a perfectgnosis. ... the principal tool to this end is the imaginatio, which givesaccess to the intermediate realms between spirit and matter"(Hanegraaff 1996: 399-400).

(5) The praxis of concordance

This is the tendency to establish commonalities between two or moretraditions. Prominent examples of this element are beliefs in a priscatheologia or philosophia perennis, or the concern for a primordial"secret doctrine" as key to all "exoteric" religious traditions, as inthe Theosophical Movement of the nineteenth century (ibid.: 400).

(6) Transmission

This component refers to the transmission of knowledge from masterto disciple by way of initiation. It includes the concept of a historicalgenealogy of "authentic" spiritual teachers (ibid.).

It is also important, as Hanegraaff notes, to define what esotericismsensu Faivre is not. Esotericism, he affirms, should be explicitly dis-tinguished

from two other commonly encountered meanings. To define "eso-tericism" with direct reference to "secrecy" or a "discipline of thearcane" is overly restrictive: many manifestations of alchemy orChristian Theosophy, for instance, have never been secret but werewidely disseminated. To define esoteri(ci)sm as the "spiritual center"or transcendent unity common to all particular religious traditions (asdone in the so-called "perennialist" school of Comparative Religion)implies that one subscribes to a religious doctrine which is moreproperly regarded as an object of study. (Ibid.: 385)

7. Faivre (1994: 13) as quoted in Hanegraaff (1996: 399).

23


In fact, as Hanegraaff further points out elsewhere,

[pjerennialists usually speak of "esoterism" rather than "esotericism".It seems useful to take advantage of this in order to distinguish betweenthe perennialist view on the one hand, and the strongly differentempirical view defended here.8 Unfortunately, however, the distinctionis difficult to maintain in translation. (Hanegraaff 1995: 110, note 24)

(7) Reformation "Spiritualism"

As previously mentioned, Hanegraaff (1996) also extends and refinesFaivre's definition of esotericism. As he explains (ibid.: 401-3), Faivrefails to take into account post sixteenth-century developments. Thelatter have provided at least one new 'intrinsic' element to the esoterictradition, namely the factor of Reformation "Spiritualism", in thesense of the term used by Church historians since the end of thenineteenth century to refer to a tradition of thought that becameespecially prominent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries(ibid.: 402). As he warns, this tradition should not be confused with"19th century spiritism", for which the same term is often used "as anear synonym" (ibid.: 403). In order to distinguish the two, i.e. theChurch historical usage from the nineteenth-century spiritism one, hemarks the former by the use of inverted commas (ibid.: 403-4), aconvention that will be followed in the present work. Basing himselfon earlier research on the subject, Hanegraaff lists the key char-acteristics of "Spiritualism" as follows:

With reference to the classic studies of Hegler and Troeltsch, ChristophBochinger analyzes the "spiritualist" perspective in terms of twelveclosely interrelated aspects: 1. Interiorization of the expectation of aNew Era and the return of Christ; 2. Spiritual hermeneutics and reli-ance on the "Inner Word"; 3. Opposition between religious experienceand "external" knowledge; 4. Certainty about spiritual things; 5.Interconnection of God-knowledge and self-knowledge; 6. Systematiccriticism or reconceptualization of traditional Church dogma; 7. Cri-ticism of the doctrine of justification and its practical/ethical results; 8.Religious freedom and personal responsibility; 9. Religious tolerance

8. "The empirical study of religions can be distinguished from theological, positivist-reductionist or religionist approaches by its practice of permanent epoche (suspension ofnormative judgement), also known as methodological agnosticism" (Hanegraaff 1996:4). For further details see the same source and Hanegraaff (1995).

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and criticism of Church intolerance: complete rejection of violence inmatters of religion; 10. Criticism of the mediation of salvation by theChurch and by external cultic ceremonies; 11. Affinity with rational-ism; 12. Cosmological foundation of hermeneutics and doctrine ofsalvation. (Ibid.: 404)

Our author goes on to remark that the "spiritualist" element is"especially important because of its general relevance to the emer-gence of characteristically modern types of religious sensitivity"(ibid.: 405). We may add that it is also crucial to the present dis-cussion as currents of Christian "spiritualism" played a central role inthe shaping of Neo-Vedanta.

(8) Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought

Moving closer to the modern and contemporary periods, Hanegraaffdetails other important developments within esotericism, broughtabout by the impact of Enlightenment and post-Enlightenmentthought. Essentially consisting of processes of secularization(including elements of rationalization and disenchantment in theWeberian sense; ibid.: 408, 409),9 these represent, according to ourauthor, "the decisive watershed in the history of Western esoteri-cism", when "[t]he survival of esotericism under the condition ofpost-Enlightenment processes of secularization produced new andunprecedented phenomena" (Hanegraaff 1996: 406). Thesephenomena,

... in spite of their diversity, ... have emerged essentially from twobroad movements, both of which are rooted in the late 18th centuryand have flourished in the 19th. The first of these is Romanticism: amovement with deep roots in the esoteric tradition, but shaped deci-sively by the Enlightenment and, especially, the Counter-Enlight-enment. The second is most properly referred to as occultism Bothaaaamovements ... can be defined as the products of a clash of worldviews.Romanticism emerged from a momentous event: the reinterpretationof esoteric cosmology under the impact of the new evolutionism. Thischanged the nature of esotericism forever, but left the internal con-sistency of its worldview essentially intact. Occultism, in contrast,

9. Concerning the complexities inherent in the concept of "secularization" see Chadwick(1990: 1-18). For a fine, concise discussion of secularization from a sociological point ofview see Wilson (1988).

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came into existence when the esoteric cosmology (based on universalcorrespondences) increasingly came to be understood in terms of thenew scientific cosmologies (based on instrumental causality). As aresult, the internally consistent worldview of traditional esotericismgave way to an unstable mixture of logically incompatible elements. Inboth streams (and in the various hybrid combinations that emerged)traditional esoteric ideas and concepts continued to be used under newconditions but, since meaning and function depend on context, theyinevitably underwent subtle but important changes. (Ibid.: 406-7)

Such transformations brought about what Hanegraaff (ibid.: 407)broadly describes as "the secularization of esotericism", of whichoccultism is the most characteristic expression. We follow Hane-graaff in describing occultism as

an etic category in the study of religions, which comprises all attempts byesotericists to come to terms with a disenchanted world or, alternatively,by people in general to make sense of esotericism from the perspective ofa disenchanted secular world. (Ibid.: 422, original emphasis)

... occultism ... is the product of a syncretism between [esotericism]and science, correspondences and causality. (Ibid.: 423)

Through the elaboration of a secularized esotericism variousattempts were made "to update traditional tenets and present them asrelevant to the secular world", resulting in the development of"religious theories, speculations and practices of a new, in-betweentype" (ibid.: 408). Aware of the complexity and elusiveness of theconcept of secularization, however, Hanegraaff pinpoints four of itsaspects which have played a key role in giving a specific character of"secularized esotericism" to Romanticism and in transforming"esotericism into occultism". They are:

i) the post-Enlightenment worldview that sets out to interpret thecosmos as being based on "laws of causality", as opposed to olderinterpretations based on "correspondences",10

ii) the modern study of religions (including the so-called "OrientalRenaissance" and the rise of Comparative Religion),

10. The universe, in other words, is no longer construed as an 'enchanted' or mysteriousplace encompassing phenomena, events and forces which are beyond human under-standing, but is seen as a huge piece of machinery, the workings of which areexplainable (or will at some point be) on the basis of natural laws.

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iii) the rise of popular evolutionism,11 andiv) the popular impact of religious types of psychology. (Ibid.: 409)

To sum up, esotericism may be seen, for the purposes of the presentstudy, as consisting of the following elements:

(1 to 6) original characteristics (from Faivre)(7) Reformation "Spiritualism" (from Hanegraaff drawing on existingscholarship)(8) Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought, as found in andpropagated through Romanticism and occultism, by way of the secu-larizing effects of:

- a worldview based on causality (in the case of occultism)- the modern study of religions- the popular impact of evolutionism- a rapprochement between psychology and religion.

Esotericism in classical and modern Hinduism

With a view to discussing the dialogue and cross-fertilization thattook place between Hinduism and Western esotericism, let usexamine any parallelism of esoteric themes between them. We shalldo this with reference to elements (1) to (8) above.

(1 to 6): Finding parallels for Faivre's characteristics of esotericismin classical Hinduism is not difficult. Hinduism has abundanttheories of correspondence, as, for example, in Samkhya or Tantric

11. About which Hanegraaff (1996: 462-3) writes:To discuss popular evolutionism separately from the emergence of the new scientificworldview and the study of religions [i.e. the two aspects of secularization listed asi) and ii) above] ... is admittedly somewhat artificial. At least since the end of the18th century, both developments were strongly informed by a belief in evolutionand its close cognate, progress. These two terms, by the way, should not be seen asstrictly synonymous: most theories of evolution have nothing to say of values, andone does not have to believe in progress in order to accept evolutionary theory ...However,... to most people in the 19th century the suggestion of a movement fromworse to better was the heart of the theory; and it is as such that popular evolu-tionism is important to our subject. Evolutionism understood as historical process isfound neither in traditional esotericism, nor in the Oriental religions which wereassimilated by Romanticism and occultism; but before the century was over, thisoccidental innovation had been assimilated so profoundly that it could seem asthough it had never been absent.

It should be further noted that the last sentence is particularly relevant to the presentstudy, especially as we shall come to see in our analysis of Brahmo religious ideas thatRomantic înterpretations of Hinduism were elaborated not only by Westerners, butalso - a fact that is often overlooked due to esoteric myopia - by Hindus themselves.

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cosmologies, or in astrology. Brahman or prana could easily bepostulated to correspond to the "spiritual force" permeating theuniverse in a general framework of living nature. Practices assimil-able to imagination and mediations were often used in meditativeand ritualistic fashion as amply documented from Vedic timesonwards; and, of course, the experience of transmutation could besaid to be the central concern of all classical forms of yoga.

As for the last two characteristics (5 and 6), the tendency to seek toestablish commonalities between two or more different traditions hasbeen quite marked within Hinduism from the times of the Upanisadsand the Gitd through to Puranic and sectarian literature. The usualprocedure was to affirm that all traditions had some validity, with theone under discussion being superior to all the others. Or again thatSiva was indeed a high God, but that he himself was a devotee andfollower of Visnu - or vice versa. The catholic nature of Hinduism isalso demonstrated by its peaceful and dialectic cohabitation withBuddhism, Jainism and, to a lesser extent, Islam.12 These syncretictendencies would, however, have been much more apparent at the'esoteric margins' of religion than in the mainstream. Concerning'Transmission' there are many Hindu spiritual lineages involvingdirect initiation and transmission of various types of teaching frommaster to pupil, and these lineages have played a key role in thisreligion (both as theoretical structures and in practice) from at leasthistorical times - say, 1500 to 1000 BCE - onwards.

We may also point out that several scholars use the expression"Hindu esotericism" as a matter of course.13 The hathayogic andalchemical aspects of "the vast current of Indian mysticism known astantra" discussed by White (1996: ix) show the parallelism with theearly categories of esotericism (1 to 6) in plentiful ways, even thoughthe author does not refer to his subject as "esotericism". Many of thesemantic values converging in the term 'esotericism' are neverthelessfound in the (Western) term 'alchemy', which he constantly employs.

Despite the above parallelism, it could be argued that there aresubstantial structural differences between the ways in which classicalHinduism and Western esotericism employ such categories. It couldbe noted, for example, that they are much more widely accepted, and

12. With notable exceptions; some current events being especially worrying and con-troversial.

13. For example, Hardy (1990: 117-26), while Brooks (1992: 405) and Bharati (1992: 18)explicitly connect 'Hindu esotericism' and Tantra.

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indeed employed as key elements of the mainstream tradition inclassical Hinduism, whereas Western esotericism is by definitionsomewhat marginal with regard to religious orthodoxy. In this senseit would be right to affirm, along with Hanegraaff, that to apply theconcept of esotericism "beyond the sphere of the monotheistic tra-ditions14 is ... questionable" (1995: 109, note 20).

While this is an important problem, it need not concern us herebecause the intellectual trends under consideration are modern ela-borations of Hinduism. The thinkers who cultivated these trendsassimilated the 'esoteric' elements of classical Hinduism (as definedabove) mainly by reinterpreting them, as we shall see, through thelenses of Western esotericism and occultism. How this happened ismore immediately obvious when we examine the general conditionsof assimilation of elements 7 and 8.

(7 and 8): These are elements much more peculiarly Judaeo-Christian and Western in form and content. Reformation "Spir-itualism", Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought were allexported more or less wholesale from the West into Bengal during theperiod of British Orientalism (1773 to 1837),15 and substantiallyinfluenced the historical processes that led to the shaping of modernforms of Hinduism including those, central to the present discussion,elaborated by the Brahmo Samaj. We should bear in mind that thecultural and technological legacies that Bengal absorbed from theWest necessarily included the same stratification of discourses,however compacted by time and transmission, that one would find inthe original Western setting. Once gathered into the fold of Westernhistory the Brahmo intelligentsia, with characteristic intellectualbriskness and flair, was quick to adapt both foreign and indigenousideas to its own purposes and mental forms. The more classical ele-ments of Hinduism - elements adaptable to "spiritualist" andoccultistic treatment being among the favourite - were also revised

14. That is, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.15. These dates are taken from Kopf's work on the subject (1969). This author explains

that, as a consequence of the 1773 Regulating Acts, "Calcutta became the capital ofBritish India" and eventually "evolved into an appropriate urban setting for expandingthe channels of constructive influences from the West and for establishing new orga-nizations offering greater opportunities for intellectual exchange between the twocultures" (ibid.: 16-17). The year 1837, on the other hand, is when British Orientalistsattained their last great achievement, i.e. the rediscovery of Buddhist India: "The laterdiscoveries would be made by continental Europeans or by Indians themselves" (ibid.:266).

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through the lenses of these later influences before being integrated inBrahmo speculations and, eventually, in Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta. And while this group was always a tiny minority amongIndia's millions,16 it was this same group that eventually led Indiainto the republican era (Kopf 1979).

At this point the modernization process became part of the nationalagenda, while in the meantime modernized forms of Hinduism hadbecome the creed of most of the urbanized middle and upper classesin India as well as in the Hindu diaspora. These high-profile com-munities were the ones most actively involved in national and inter-national decision-making processes, culture formation, civilrepresentation, industrialization, commerce and finance. CertainlyNeo-Hinduism did and still does carry on a dialogue with classicalforms of Hinduism. From its inception, however, it was stronglyinformed by the values of Enlightenment liberalism, more or lessorthodox Christianity and, last but not least, Western esoteric"spiritualism". In turn, it was to contribute much to Western eso-tericism and to certain Christian denominations (such as Unitarian-ism and Quakerism) over the last two centuries. Hence thedevelopmental outlines of this phenomenon are as relevant to mod-ernized Hinduism as they are to Western esotericism. They need,however, to be studied with reference to the specific chronologicaland contextual conditions found in India throughout this period.

We should further bear in mind that the Indian situation was vastlydifferent from the Western one. While Western culture had nurturedits developing esotericism (along with many other intellectual uni-verses) through a progression of slow and gradual historical stages,India was all of a sudden faced with an intense barrage of importednew ideas. Britain imposed this dialogue on the Orient by taking upresidence in the East. As Halbfass succinctly put it: "For modernIndians, dealing with the West is not a matter of choice or predilec-tion: it is a historical necessity and predicament" (1988: 218). TheWest, on the other hand, selectively steered the dialogue with the Eastaccording to its (intellectual and material) needs and wishes (Schwab1984; Kopf 1969), except of course for causing responses in which itended up being at the receiving end, such as various revolts, theIndian nationalist struggle and, especially relevant in the present

16. See Jackson's comment (1994: 4) that "it was always too intellectual in approach andin the end too foreign to win the acceptance of India's millions".

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context of discussion, the modern Hindu missionary thrust. In otherwords, whereas Europe had slowly brought about its own modernistparadigm shifts from the Renaissance onwards, the ones elaboratedduring the Hindu period of modernization were originally introducedinto India from the outside and only successively absorbed (to apoint) into indigenous forms.

The British colonial enterprise in India was furthermore the firstexercise of the kind actively committed to propagating Enlightenmentrationalism as "the Truth". The cultural imperialism that followedforced the Indian mind to measure itself against all sorts of foreignconstructs: economic, political, scientific, technological, philosophi-cal, religious - and esoteric. These complex intellectual influencesblended in with local traditions and speculations, and took strongroot in India's intellectual soil.

We shall provide an analytical outline of these developments, withspecial reference to events that will lead to the formation of ModernYoga, in the last part of this chapter. Further details and evidence willthen be supplied in the rest of Part I. Before we proceed in thisdirection, however, we need to expand a little on the sociologicalconcepts of sect, cult and cultic milieu, and finally return to Hane-graaffs definitions of New Age religion and related chronology.These constructs will in fact play an important part in our analysis ofthe esotericization of modern Hinduism and of the nature of ModernYoga.

Mysticism, cult and sect

In his well-known typology, Troeltsch (1931: 993 and passim) definesthree types of religiosity,17 namely the church type, the sect type, andmysticism. As Troeltsch (1931: 734) explains, when the third type ofreligiosity emancipates itself from the more "concrete" modes ofreligion, such as the institutionally structured church and sect types,

mysticism realizes that it is an independent religious principle; it seesitself as the real universal heart of all religion ... It regards itself as themeans of restoring an immediate union with God; it feels independent

17. And "not simply of organisational structures", as is too often assumed in sociologicalliterature (Campbell 1978: 147).

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of all institutional religion, ... which makes it indifferent towardsevery kind of religious fellowship.

It is at this point that mysticism turns into that "spiritualism" or"spiritual religion" which we described under (7) above with regardsto post-Reformation developments of esotericism. This type of reli-giosity becomes eminently individualistic insofar as it subscribes to"the great doctrine of the Divine Seed, of the Divine Spark which lieshidden in every mind and soul, stifled by sin and by the finite, yetcapable of being quickened into vitality by the touch of the DivineSpirit working on and in our souls" (ibid.: 738), and as such supports"a theology of the subjective consciousness of salvation" (ibid.: 739).Because of its stress on individual religious experience, "spiritual"religiosity exhibited "a spirit of religious toleration which granted toeach individual the actual right to his own convictions". This resultedin a relativistic outlook, "since in all that is relative the Absolute ispresent" (ibid.: 750), and in a propensity towards polymorphism(ibid.: 745).

While church and sect types of spirituality tend to form veryconcrete, hierarchically ordered and clearly regulated social struc-tures, "spiritual" religion only recognizes

the Invisible Church ... the purely spiritual fellowship, known to Godalone, about which man does not need to concern himself at all, butwhich invisibly rules all believers ... [T]he individual is thereforerelieved of all obligation to organize and evangelize, and from allconnection with ecclesiastical and sectarian organization. (Ibid.)

But as mystics are also human, they feel "the need for the give-and-take of intimate fellowship with other souls". The groups that theyform, of a peculiarly fluid and distinctive type, are technically called'cults' in sociological literature (ibid.). Hanegraaff (1996: 15), relyingon Troeltsch (1931) and Campbell (1972), summarizes their char-acteristics by comparing them to those of the sect:

Cult SectIndividualistic CollectivistLoosely structured Tightly structuredFew demands on members Many demands on membersTolerant Intolerant

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Inclusivist ExclusivistTransient StableUndefined boundaries Clearly circumscribedFluctuating belief systems Stable belief systemsRudimentary organization Stable organizationHighly ephemeral Persisting over time

As all these authors agree, however, these are ideal-typical models. Inaaaaaactual fact all three types (church, sect, and mysticism/cult) dointeract and combine in many ways: significantly different formationsand tendencies may also be found within the same group whenobserved over time; or one type may be transformed into another asthe result of shifting membership and changing circumstances. This isalso evident in the post-Vivekananda history of Modern Yoga: defi-nitely cultic to start with, it will later start to develop sectarian ten-dencies, some of which will eventually become embodied ininstitutions. In the West the post-Second World War diffusion andpopularization patterns of Modern Yoga, quickly followed by insti-tutional consolidation and acculturation, have even brought about anumber of attempted rapprochements with the church type.18

But, ultimately, cult and sect are the two types that most naturallyoverlap and interact. The social dynamics that Troeltsch describeswith regard to sects and "spiritual religion" during the Reformationare still found in today's groups:

In actual fact both of these religious types were constantly merging intoeach other. The sect aspired to the inwardness of mysticism; mysticismstrove to realize the sacred fellowship of the sect. "Enthusiasm" - theresult of great excitement and of the oppressive hostility of the chur-ches - also played its part in drawing both these groups closer together.But inconsistencies and tensions, due to this partial fusion of the twotypes, still remained. (1931: 753)

18. There are various Christian attempts at assimilation of (Modern) Yoga forms; cf., forexample, the Benedictine monks Dechanet (1993) and Abhishiktananda (1984), theJesuit De Mello (1984), and the Anglican Father Slade (1973). A different type ofassimilation, this time in the Hindu direction, is found in the International Society forKrishna Consciousness (ISKCON)'s recent (and often successful) attempts at estab-lishing themselves as part of the Hindu mainstream.

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From mysticism to cultic milieu

We have already pointed out that the associative patterns of mysticreligion or "spiritualism" are fluid and flexible to the extreme,reflecting strong inward and therefore potentially individualistictendencies. From Renaissance times in Europe, and over the lastcouple of centuries in India, these "spiritualist" tendencies have beenreinforced by the rise of secularization on the one hand, and by thefast technological developments of communications networks on theother.19 This has given rise to what Campbell (1972) has appro-priately defined as the "cultic milieu". Introducing this concept, heobserves:

Cults ... tend to succeed very quickly and take over the characteristicsof sects or else fade away in the face of societal opposition or theabsence of a charismatic leader...

Given that cultic groups have a tendency to be ephemeral and highlyunstable, it is a fact that new ones are being born just as fast as the oldones die. There is a continual process of cult formation and collapsewhich parallels the high turnover of membership at the individuallevel. Clearly, therefore, cults must exist within a milieu which, if notconducive to the maintenance of individual cults, is clearly highlyconducive to the spawning of cults in general. Such a generally sup-portive cultic milieu is continually giving birth to new cults, absorbingthe debris of the dead ones and creating new generations of cult-proneindividuals to maintain the high levels of membership turnover. Thus,whereas cults are by definition a largely transitory phenomenon, thecultic milieu is, by contrast, a constant feature of society. (Ibid.:121-2)

This milieu is unified by several common characteristics:

1. The various individuals and groups composing it "share a com-mon position as heterodox or deviant items in relation to thedominant cultural orthodoxies". This gives rise to "a commonconsciousness of deviance [and their] spokesmen ... thus have acommon cause in attacking orthodoxy and in defending indivi-dual liberty of belief and practice. Arising from this there is aprevailing orientation of mutual sympathy and support ... [and]

19. For an in-depth analysis and discussion of the latter topic see Bayly (1996).

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marked tolerance and receptivity towards each other's beliefs"(ibid.: 122). The latter element also receives a great stimulus fromthe emphasis given to the "spiritual" and mystical elements ofreligion which are very conducive to the acceptance of syncreticformulas (ibid.: 122-3).

2. There is a prevalence of "over-lapping communication struc-tures" and of overlapping beliefs and practices (from differentgroups) in most cultic-milieu individuals. This further reinforcessyncretization. The milieu is kept alive by "magazines, period-icals, books, pamphlets, lectures, demonstrations and informalmeetings" (ibid.: 123). Groups are open to each other's sugges-tions, or mutually supportive, and they also publicize each other'sideas and events. Individuals 'sampling' groups within the culticmilieu "constitute yet another unifying force within the milieu"(ibid.).

3. Individuals operating within the cultic milieu share a "commonideology of seekership which both arises from and in turn re-inforces the consciousness of deviant status, the receptive andsyncretistic orientation and the interpenetrative communicationstructure" (ibid.). Campbell follows Lofland and Stark inapplying the concept of seekership "to persons who have adopteda problem-solving perspective while defining conventional reli-gious institutions and beliefs as inadequate" (ibid.) This conceptprevails throughout the cultic milieu, and is applied beyond thereligious field: "truth (or enlightenment)" are understood to exist"outside the purely mystical religious tradition" and to "applyequally well to the search for interpretations and explanations ofnon-religious phenomena ... and even in the context of thepursuit of worldly success, health or consolation" (ibid.: 123-4).

New Age religion vs. New Age movement

In the analysis summarized above, Campbell discusses the char-acteristics of the cultic milieu mainly with reference to the Westernsituation at the time of his writing (early 1970s). Hanegraaff, on theother hand, convincingly argues that the phenomena described byCampbell were only one aspect of a longer process, namely thenineteenth-century formation of New Age religion, which eventuallybecame a self-aware New Age movement in the mid-1970s. Towards

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the end of his book, Hanegraaff (1996: 515) reiterates his definitionof New Age religion as a set of beliefs sharing patterns of commoncriticism directed against dominant cultural trends and formulated onthe basis of a specific tradition, i.e. Western esotericism. After this hegoes on to state:

My findings leave no other option than to conclude that the perspectivewhich we have referred to as "New Age religion" was born in the 19thcentury20 and had reached maturity not later than the beginnings ofthe 20th. The "cultic milieu" described by Colin Campbell continuedthis same perspective ... I have argued that it was only in the secondhalf of the 1970s that this cultic milieu "became conscious of itself asconstituting a more or less unified movement", and I proposed to takethis phenomenon as the beginning of the New Age movement in aprecise sense. If this is to be combined with the definition given above,we have no other option than making a distinction between New Agereligion (i.e., the general type of culture criticism based on a founda-tion of secularized esotericism) and the New Age movement specifi-cally. Although the "substance" of New Age religion has long beenpresent, those who adhered to it clearly began to perceive themselvesas being part of a "movement" approximately in the second half of the1970s. (Ibid.: 522)

The above points and chronological framework, applicable withsome adaptation to the development of modern forms of Hinduism,should be borne in mind as we proceed to analyse the Indian situa-tion.

Classical Hinduism vs. modern Hindu elaborations

The chronological framework discussed below analyses the mainideological currents at work between India and the West with regardto the esotericization of Hinduism and the formation of ModernYoga. It has been evolved by adapting the work of Friedhelm Hardy(1984), Wilhelm Halbfass (1988), David Kopf (1969) and J. N.Farquhar (1977 [1914]) in the light of my own findings. The resultingscheme is presented in Table 1.

20. See Hanegraaff (1996: 517): "The foundations of New Age religion were createdduring the late 18th and the 19th century, in the course of a process which I havereferred to as the secularization of esotericism."

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Table 1 Developments in modern Hinduism

CLASSICAL HINDUISM(before the second halfof the eighteenth century)

Forms of classical Hinduismcontinuing if untouchedor not greatly affected

Modern (Western)influences (including BritishOrientalism, Seramporemission and Unitarian ideas)

MODERN HINDUISM

MODERN HINDU TRADITION ALISM-

NEO-HINDUI$M-

Other Neo-Hindu" groups (for example

Arya Samaj)

Neo-Vedanta„ (especially Brahmo

Samaj andcosmopolitan Indianmilieus; parts ofHindu diaspora)

The concept of 'classical' Hinduism is used following Hardy(1984), for whom classical Hinduism is a phenomenon occurring "ina pre-18th century context", that is before the "major discontinuity... which arises through the advent of British colonial power in India... and through the process of 'Westernisation' initiated thereby"(ibid.: 15). It is worth noting that, in this sense, Hardy's definitionencompasses what is called 'Classical' and 'Medieval' periods in sometextbooks.21 In the more specific context of yoga, the use of 'classical'

21. For example, Smart (1992, Part I, Chapter 2).

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(not capitalized) will alert the reader that what is being discussed isnot the 'Classical Yoga' (capitalized) of Patanjali, but all types ofyoga current before the second half of the eighteenth century,including Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and related commentaries.

There are other possible, more precise chronological markers forthe beginning of Western influences on Hinduism. One is the 1757Battle of Plassey (PalasI), when the British penetration of India startedin earnest. As we saw (note 15 here) Kopf uses 1773 for the beginningof British Orientalism. What is beyond doubt is that by 1775 theimported culture was starting to affect traditional ways of life to anoticeable degree. This created responses and reactions in the indi-genous cultures, and the Hindu ones are grouped under the generalheading of 'Modern Hinduism' in Table 1 as they did not crystallizeinto coherent ideological movements up to 1815.22 The term 'HinduRenaissance' has been deliberately avoided because what has beencalled Hindu Renaissance over the years (whether in apologetic oranalytical terms) covers too many of the phenomena found inModern Hinduism.23 In order to highlight the trends that led andcontributed to the formation of Modern Yoga it was felt that morespecific categories were needed.

The beginnings of Neo-Hinduism

One of them is the subdivision between Neo-Hinduism and ModernHindu Traditionalism. This part of the table is taken from Halbfass,who in turn takes his framework from Hacker.24 As Halbfass himselfpoints out (1988: 221), "Hacker's scheme is a simplification,although a useful and convenient one". We should therefore bear inmind complexities and overlaps which blur the boundaries betweenthese two categories when dealing with any particular piece ofresearch.

The "Other Neo-Hindu groups" shown in Table 1 stand for suchcomplexities, and most of all for Neo-Hindu groups which are notNeo-Vedantic (such as the Arya Samaj), and are as such, arguably,

22. Date of publication of Rammohan Roy's Vedantasdra (see below).23. For a thorough discussion of the term 'Renaissance' as applied to the Modern Hindu

context see Kopf (1969: 280ff.).24. For a general discussion see Halbfass (1988: 210-12, 219-22). For a good discussion of

the same two groups from a somewhat different point of view cf. Kopf (1969, Chapter12 and especially pp. 192-213).

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less (or differently) affected by Western esoteric trends. These parallelNeo-Hindu groups are, however, of no direct concern to the presentdiscussion and will not be explored further.

This subdivision apart, it is clearly possible to recognize that twodifferent overall strands develop within Hinduism as a result of itsmeeting with modernity: a Neo-Hindu one much more receptive toWestern influences and models, and a Modern Hindu Traditionalistone not unsympathetic to modernity, but far less inclined to com-promise with its dictates. As Halbfass comments:

Traditionalism ... has also taken in and assimilated new elements, andis by no means a mere continuation of that which existed before theencounter with the West. Similarly, it is not possible to describe Neo-Hinduism as a rigorous break with the past and its transmission. Whatdistinguishes Neo-Hinduism and Traditionalism are the different waysin which they appeal to the tradition, the structures which they employto interrelate the indigenous and the foreign, and the degree of theirreceptivity vis-a-vis the West. Modern traditional Hinduism has pre-served an essentially unbroken continuity with the tradition, and itbuilds upon this foundation, carries on what is already present in thetradition, even though additions are made and extrapolations occur.

To be sure, Neo-Hinduism also invokes the tradition, tries to returnto it, and hopes to find in it the power and context for its response tothe West. Yet as Hacker emphasizes, this return is the result of arupture and discontinuity. More important than the fact that foreignelements have been added to the tradition is that basic concepts andprinciples of this tradition have been reinterpreted and provided withnew meanings as a result of the encounter with the West: "Neo-Hin-duism ... always implies reinterpretation." The link which the "Neo-Hindus" find to their tradition is, one may say, an afterthought; forthey first adopt Western values and means of orientation and thenattempt to find the foreign in the indigenous... (1988: 219-20)

Neo-Vedanta started to emerge as a clearly defined ideologicalmovement under the intellectual leadership of Rammohan Roy(Figure 2). The division from Modern Hindu Traditionalism25

became blatantly obvious in the controversy that followed the

25. And possibly from other Neo-Hindu groups, or this differentiation may have takenplace later.

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publication of his Veddntasdra in 1815.26 Roy's Traditionalistopponents retorted by publishing the Veddntacandrikd in 1817,27 inwhich they criticized Roy (without, however, explicitly mentioninghim) as ddhunika ("innovator") and iddnintana ("modernizer")(Halbfass 1988: 221, 210). Roy can thus be seen as the first influentialNeo-Vedantic author and his opponents as early theorizers of Mod-ern Hindu Traditionalism.

Halbfass (ibid.: 219) points out that Neo-Hinduism has been moresuccessful outside India than Modern Hindu Traditionalism, which"has retained a much greater vitality within India itself". Thisobservation also applies to Neo-Vedanta, which, as we shall seethrough our analysis of Modern Yoga, is still expanding and growingamong cosmopolitan Indians, the worldwide Hindu diaspora andacross committed communities of Neo-Vedanta converts, many ofwhom originate from Western cultural moulds. This is only logicalafter we realize that Neo-Vedanta is much closer in form and con-tents to Western/modern culture than Modern Hindu Traditionalism.As it is within Neo-Vedanta that Modern Yoga emerged, this is theideological current that we shall follow more closely throughout thefirst part of the present study.

Esoteric East-West cross-influences in historical perspective

As Neo-Hinduism was taking shape, the inner coherency of ClassicalHinduism was shaken by the radical 'otherness' of many of the newideas - the challenges of various types of Christianity and ofEnlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought, as we saw, chiefamong them.

Some of these influences were progressively absorbed during theera of British Orientalism (1773-1837; see note 15 here). Kopf'sexcellent study on the subject (1969) shows how an elite of tradi-tional Bengali literati was gradually transformed into a modernized

26. Date of the Bengali publication; an English translation of this work was published in1816 under the title Abridgement of the Veddnt (see Halbfass 1988: 202, which listsRoy's publications).

27. With an attached English translation called An Apology for the Present System ofHindoo Worship (ibid.: 210).

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Figure 2 Rammohan Roy, c. 1832. Portrait by H.P. Briggs (1791-1844).(By permission of the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery)

41

T HISTORY OF MODERN YOGA

Hindu intelligentsia28 by means of professionalization and dailyinteraction and co-operation with Europeans. Both parties foundcommon ground for discussion and common interests in areas ofsocial, intellectual and practical co-operation. The main actors of thisperiod were either inspired by or receptive to the egalitarian, tolerantand universalistic spirit of the Enlightenment, and modern Hinduthought was substantially shaped by such influences.

Early British Orientalists were exemplary in this sense as they were,in the main, deeply sympathetic to South Asian cultural forms. IfWilliam Jones played a key role in the recovery of the glories ofHindu culture, he was certainly not alone. Kopf (ibid.) has shownthat the Orientalist milieu defined many of the discourses that theBengali Renaissance would later develop, and these would be directlyabsorbed into modern forms of Hinduism. The Sanskritist ThomasColebrooke, for example, "concentrated his research upon VedicIndia, and by the end of his career, he had devised a new compositeimage of the Indo-Aryan period as an age of gold" which "wasdramatically and metaphorically contrasted with the peculiarities ofcontemporary Hindu society" (ibid.: 40). In his seminal (from anOrientalist point of view) essay "On the Vedas or the Sacred Writingsof the Hindus", he retraced "his discovery of 'the unity of the God-head,' or a monotheistic tradition, in ancient India" (Kopf 1969: 41).His classicist research focused on the period of Indian antiquity up toand including the world of the early Upanisads, whereas his successorH. H. Wilson extended Orientalist scholarship into 'medieval5

times29 and regionally based traditions (ibid.: 167-75). Thus theOrientalists left an important legacy: a reconstruction of Indian cul-ture (including philosophical and religious beliefs, history, and soforth) based on eighteenth-century Enlightenment principles andmethodology, with work done on the Vedic and 'medieval5 periodsproving especially influential. It was only natural that members of theBengali intelligentsia, by definition striving to integrate foreigninfluences, would turn to these constructs in their attempts to adapttheir culture to modern times, at the same time inevitably distancingthemselves from a more conservative Hindu orthodoxy.

28. As Kopf (1969: 1-2) explains, "The term is derived from a Russian word denoting aEuropean-educated class of professional intellectuals who found themselves increas-ingly alienated from Russian society and government in the nineteenth century."

29. I.e. "the history of India between the Vedas and the rise of the Muslims" (ibid.: 170).

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There is also interesting evidence that British Orientalists them-selves held rather unorthodox religious beliefs, and this is especiallytelling in the context of the present discussion and in view of theseminal intellectual influence exercised by this group of scholars.William Jones, for example, stated about the Vedanta that "nothingcan be farther removed from impiety than a system wholly built onthe purest devotion" (quoted in Mukherjee 1968: 118). In his privatecorrespondence he admitted even more explicitly to his Hindu sym-pathies: "I am no Hindu but I hold the doctrine of the Hindus con-cerning a future state to be incomparably more rational, pious andmore likely to deter men from vice than the horrid opinions incul-cated by the Christians on punishment without end" (quoted in ibid.:119). His biographer concludes that "Jones had faith in God andChrist as pictured in the Bible but his views were very similar to thoseof Dissenters such as Price or Priestley" (ibid.: 118). We shall hearmore about Unitarianism soon.

We find similar evidence with regard to other Orientalists: Mar-shall (1970: 26) describes John Zephaniah Holwell as "a Christian... of a very eccentric kind", and Alexander Dow as a nominal one.And finally we should say a few words about Warren Hastings, who,as Governor-General of India (1774-85), encouraged and activelysupported the progress of Orientalist studies.30 His patronage inclu-ded commissioning the earliest translation of the Bhagavad Gitd fromSanskrit directly into English (1785). In its final published form, thelatter work included, by way of foreword, a letter that Hastingswrote to the then Chairman of the East India Company, NathanielSmith (Hastings 1785). As Godwin (1994: 309) remarks, this lettermay well be the first modern instance in which a European "hadgiven credit, in print, to the fruits of yoga".

Hastings' comments were carefully worded, but they do contain aclear summary of his views on the subject. Most crucially, they revealwhat the Enlightenment found fascinating about yogic and meditativepractices: that effective, well-tested techniques of abstraction hadseemingly been systematized thanks to the accumulated knowledge ofgenerations of practitioners who had explored "new tracks andcombinations of sentiment" (Hastings 1785: 9). Such experimenta-tion led these adepts to work out doctrines "totally different from

30. "Hastings's policy was designed to encourage Orientalists and Bengalis to worktogether for common goals" (Kopf 1969: 178).

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[those] with which the learned of other nations are acquainted"(ibid.). These doctrines, Hastings proposed, were "equally founded intruth with the most simple of our own" having been "derived from asource so free from every adventitious mixture" (ibid.). While theauthor's measured language betrays his awareness of treading overpotentially controversial religious issues, the message is clear: Hast-ings is saying that Hindu contemplation and the insights it bestowsare just as valid as the Christian ones, and that the Hindus' profi-ciency in these endeavours may even be superior to the Christians', as"even the most studious men of our hemisphere" may "have neverbeen accustomed to this separation of the mind from the notices ofthe senses" (ibid.). Many Christians, especially in the following'evangelical' century, would not have taken kindly to such state-ments. Their esotericist contemporaries, on the other hand, wouldagree wholeheartedly with Hastings.

The political and ideological changes that started in Britain in thesecond decade of the nineteenth century turned the tables on bothacculturated Orientalists and Indian intellectuals. A crucial parlia-mentary debate took place in 1813, and the resulting India Act endedthe East India Company's monopoly of trade, and opened its terri-tories both to British commerce and to Christian preaching (Sykes1997: 21), while in the meantime the rise of Evangelical Christianityrepresented by the Clapham Sect opened the doors to often ques-tionable forms of missionary intervention. Later on, the new views ofEurocentric colonial policies resulting in Thomas BabingtonMacaulay's heavy-handed programme of Anglicization preventedfurther amicable co-operation between Indian intellectuals and theruling British elites. Unable to return to completely traditional waysof life and prevented from elaborating a common cultural programmewith the British, the Indian intelligentsia was now forced to find adifferent orientation:

The Calcutta cultural mediator who for decades had respondedfavorably to the culture of the European (who was himself favorablyimpressed with Indian culture) now faced the different view that allpatterns of reform were an integral part of Western civilization andthat all Asian civilizations were almost by definition static and deca-dent. The intelligentsia in Calcutta were compelled to confront a crisisin identity. ... Most... responded to the crisis by identifying with the

44


Orientalist-reconstructed view of Hinduism, which they romanticizedas apologists. (Kopf 1969: 272)

For different reasons, the same Orientalist constructs of Hinduismwere also being adopted (and further transformed) by many in theWest. There was a chronological progression in this. During thesecond part of the eighteenth century, we find a number of Enlight-enment sceptics who, like Voltaire, were looking for intellectualweapons to attack Christian dogmas and institutions. They were soonjoined by a number of committed esotericists who were earnestlyseeking new and possibly more valid sources of wisdom than thosethe West could offer (Godwin 1994). An altogether more popularfollowing, however, started to grow as a result of the spread of lit-eracy in the 1830s.31 From this time onward, Orientalist knowledge -and literary or esoteric elaborations of it - became progressively moreaccessible to a much greater number of people than ever before. Andmuch of this knowledge was appropriated by esotericists East andWest, who used it and reinterpreted it according to their own lights.

The contacts between these two popular esotericisms - Eastern andWestern - were limited to relatively circumscribed intellectual andpersonal exchanges during the first half of the nineteenth century,Roy and his friends being pioneers of this trend. But a more sub-stantial rapprochement started to take place around the middle of thecentury, and by 1875 the two parties were actively interacting atsocial and institutional levels. By this time Neo-Vedantic esotericismwas flourishing in Keshubchandra Sen, the enthusiastic and charis-matic leader who followed Roy and Debendranath Tagore at thehead of the Brahmo Samaj. Following the history of these Brahmoleaders will allow us to retrace the progressive occultization of Neo-Vedanta and the genesis of Modern Yoga. A basic overview of thistopic is presented below, and schematized in Table 2. Further evi-dence and secondary details will be given in the rest of Part I.

The Brahmo Samaj and the occultization of Neo-Vedanta

Neo-Vedantic Hinduism, eventually institutionalized in the Brahmo

31. Godwin (1994: 67) points out that in England "there was already by 1800 an artisanclass eager for self-improvement and education". About the more general Britishcontext see Thomas (1988).

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Table 2 Ideological developments of Neo-Vedanta in the Brahmo Samaj

Rammohan Roy (c. 1774-1833}NEO-VEDANTICENLIGHTENMENT(Veddntasara 1815)

Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905)NEO-VEDANTICROMANTICISM

Keshubchandra Sen (1838-84)NEO-VEDANTIC"SPIRITUALISM*'

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)(Narendranath Datta)NEO-VEDANTICOCCULTISM(Raja Yoga 1896)

Samaj, developed on the ideological foundations established byRammohan Roy. These consisted of a universalistic interpretation ofHinduism. Inspired by Indianized versions of the Enlightenmentproject and influenced by Unitarian Christianity, Roy relied on astreamlined, rationalized, monotheistic theology strongly coloured bya selective and modernistic reading of the Upanisads and of theVedanta. This Neo-Vedanta was humanistic in its concern to improvethe lot of the Indian population through the implementation of socialreforms and the propagation of ethical ideals. It also paved the way,albeit unwittingly, for the progressive secularization of certain strataof the Bengali population by supporting this-worldly and naturalisticinterpretations of many aspects of religion.

Debendranath Tagore (Figure 3), while at first accepting the"purificationist or puritanical view of the Vedic golden age" (Kopf1969: 202) which he had inherited in Roy's Neo-Vedanta, eventuallyaltered the Brahmo doctrines considerably. Not only did he distancehimself, like Roy before him, from central Hindu beliefs such as

46


reincarnation and karma, but he also rejected the authority of theVedas in 1851,32 declaring instead that "Nature and intuition aresources for the knowledge of God. No book is."33 In this senseTagore brought the Brahmo Samaj more in line with Western formsof esoteric religiosity. His Romantic approach to Neo-Hindu doc-trines also contributed towards shifting the Samaj closer to Wester-nized thought forms and further away from classical orthodoxy, aprocess that will then be taken up and continued by KeshubchandraSen.

By the time Sen (see Figures 4, 5 and 6) joined the Brahmo Samaj in1857, the rapprochement between esotericists East and West hadbecome a reality. The thwarting of Orientalist plans of Anglo-Indianco-operation had deprived the Bengali intelligentsia of their academicinterlocutors. Militant Christian missions, on the other hand, weregathering momentum and power. The only body of Western inter-locutors that was now eager to communicate and co-operate withIndians qua Indians was that of esotericists, whether Christian orotherwise. Bengalis reciprocated, while Orient-inspired Romantic,Transcendentalist, occultistic and in due course Theosophical ideaswere being propagated through a steadily growing body of literatureor through lecture tours34 and personal contacts.35

The cultivated Indian middle classes were expanding, especially soin Bengal: they quickly absorbed what they found congenial in eso-tericism, and these ideas were added to their Orientalist-reconstructed Hinduism. Just like many Western cities, Calcutta,Bombay and Madras had by now their own 'cultic milieus' and it washere that the new styles of religious associationism thrived. Farquhar(1977 [1914]) presents us with a very lively picture of such milieus,and testifies to "the rise in India about 1870 of a new spirit, whichgenerated many religious movements" (ibid.: 186). The TheosophicallSociety and the Arya Samaj - just to mention two of the moreinfluential associations - were both established in 1875 and in 1878the Theosophical Society moved its headquarters from New York toIndia. The Brahmo Samaj was the more official and representative

32. Farquhar (1977 [1914]: 38 and 45 respectively); regarding the Vedas see also Kopf(1979: xxi) and Chapter 2 here.

33. From the Brahmo Samaj covenant composed by Debendranath Tagore in 1842 (asquoted in Lavan 1984: 74 and 1995: 9).

34. The lecture tour undertaken by the Theosophist W. Q. Judge in summer 1884 is typicalin this respect (Judge 1980: vii).

35. Theosophy became very popular across South Asia as well as in the West.

47

Figure 3 Debendranath Tagore at age 45. From Tagore, D. (1909) TheAutobiography of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore. S.K. Lahiri & Co., Calcutta.(By permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library)

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arm of this overall intellectual movement, the locus in which Neo-Vedantic Hinduism continued to be elaborated after British Orient-alism had come to an end.

Sen inaugurated Neo-Vedantic "spiritualism" proper. His theoryof "enthusiasm" as the living heart of the religious life was pro-grammatic in this sense,36 and may be seen as the Indian version ofthat radical brand of subjective Reformation "spiritualism" calledSchwdrmerei ("enthusiasm") by more moderate reformers. Earlysteps towards the formulation of an accessible, non-renunciatory,everyman type of Neo-Vedantic "spiritualism" had been taken byRoy through his theorization of the grhastha brahmavddin ethos.37

Debendranath Tagore followed with Neo-Vedantic adaptations ofthe Puritan ethic, and Sen completed the process. Crucially, he alsotranslated these ideas into lay systems of spiritual practice and intonew institutional forms. As far as we have been able to ascertain,some of the practices and tenets he elaborated represent the earliestdocumented forms of proto Modern Yoga. His experiments inspiritually based communal living, furthermore, led to the creation ofthat typically modern institution, the Neo-Hindu 'ashram' (see note34, Chapter 2), now ubiquitous throughout India and in other Neo-Hindu enclaves worldwide. For all these reasons, Sen plays a key rolein the present study: his importance in the modern esoteric sphere hasnot been sufficiently acknowledged - for example the very direct linkshe had with Vivekananda. An esotericist reading of this historyclearly shows that Sen was the most influential role model forVivekananda.

Indeed, Vivekananda's debt to the Brahmo Samaj cannot beoverstated. Mentioned in specialist scholarly work,38 it hardly plays apart in less specialized etic literature, let alone in more popular per-ceptions. A careful study of the evidence shows that, the inspirationalrole played by Ramakrishna notwithstanding, Vivekananda wasmoulded by the formative influence of Neo-Vedanta rather than byRamakrishna's Hinduism.

36. See his praise of "enthusiasm", written two years before his death (quoted in Hay 1988:46-7).

37. In Neo-Hindu terminology, this may be translated as "householding spiritual seeker",meaning someone living in the world, but having some form of 'spiritual realization' ashis or her main aim in life (regarding 'realization' discourses see Chapter 4).

38. Cf. Sil (1997: 52), Williams (1995a: 60; 1995b: 378), Rambachan (1994: 88), Kopf(1979: 205) and Halbfass (1988: 233), the last two being less aware of esoteric cur-rents.

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Sen opened the way to Vivekananda's full immersion into (andabsorption of) Western esoteric and occultistic culture. Steeped insecularist, empiricist and Romantic ideas by way of his studies, theyoung Datta accessed a congenial form of (Neo-Vedantic) Hinduismwhen he joined the Brahmo Samaj,39 and it is in this context that hemet Ramakrishna. His relationship with the Bengali holy man was,however, never as straightforward as popularly assumed, a factrevealed both by historical events40 and by Vivekananda's ownteachings which, just like those of the Ramakrishna movement (albeitin different ways), diverge substantially from what Ramakrishnapreached (see Neevel 1976; Sil 1997; and below).

Once we become aware of the pervasive presence of esotericism inthese milieus, it becomes obvious that Vivekananda's life and workmanifested many of the potentialities and ideals cultivated by themore esoteric section of the Brahmo Samaj. At the 1893 ChicagoParliament of Religions the Swami produced a remarkably influentialsynthesis of Neo-Vedantic esotericism. A few years later, havingassimilated the highly congenial atmosphere of cutting-edge Amer-ican occultism, he went on to propagate the first fully-fledged for-mulation of Modern Yoga with the publication of his Raja Yoga(1896). He thus established what is arguably the most successful andproductive branch of Neo-Vedantic occultism to date. As we shall seein due course, his Modern Yoga teachings will also be enthusiasticallyadopted by Neo-Vedanta's Western partner, i.e. New Age religion.

39. He was an active member of both Sen's Brahmo Samaj of India and of the moremoderate Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (see Chapter 3).

40. See studies by Neevel (1976), Sil (1993; 1997) and Kripal (1995). From certain (Neo-)Hindu points of view, works by the last two authors may be seen as provocative andiconoclastic. In a scholarly context, however, they should be judged dispassionately onthe basis of accuracy, coherence and cogency of argument.

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2. The religious foundationsof Modern Yoga

The higher spiritual concepts of India still appeal with a compelling force to menwho have given up the observances of orthodox Hinduism and they strike a responsewhich is not deadened by rationalism. There is a nostalgic spirituelle which is hardto describe.

(O'Malley 1968: 788)

This chapter examines the 'esoteric history' of the Brahmo Samajwith special reference to the development of Modern Yoga. We shalldiscuss aspects of this modern religious movement's history that areoften bypassed in the relevant literature. Apart from these aspects, thehistory of the Samaj is well known1 and will not be repeated, exceptfor the following dates, set out for the reader's convenience.

The earliest Brahmo Samaj was established in 1843, whenRammohan Roy's Brahmo Sabha (established in 1828 as a uni-versalist theistic society) merged with Debendranath Tagore'sTattvabodhini Sabha (established in 1839 to counter trinitarianChristian conversions in Bengal). The first Brahmo schism took placein 1866, when the younger and more liberal Keshubchandra Senseceded from the more conservative Debendranath Tagore. This gaverise to the Brahmo Samaj of India (under Sen), while Tagore's groupcame to be called Adi ("original") Brahmo Samaj. A second schismtook place in 1878, when a more secular and socially minded Sad-haran Brahmo Samaj seceded from Sen's Samaj, by then strongly

1. See especially Kopf (1969; 1979). For helpful overviews see Brockington (1989: 173-8)and Lavan (1995).

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inclined towards a mystical and universalistic "spiritualism". In 1879Sen and his followers inaugurated the Nava Vidhan or Church of theNew Dispensation, headed by Sen as prophet of a new religionwishing "to convince the world that the unity of all religions wasessential" (Kopf 1979: 316).

The turning point between classical Hinduism and Neo-Vedanta: Rammohan Roy's Neo-Vedantic Enlightenment

Halbfass5 statement that Neo-Hinduism involved a "rupture" or"discontinuity" with the classical Hindu tradition has been referredto in the previous chapter. One of the key players in this context wasRammohan Roy. Sparked by influences from the European Enlight-enment, Roy became the cultural hero of the Bengal Renaissance2 andis nowadays widely recognized as "the father of modern India" (Hay1988: 15). The controversies that he initiated - most notably with thepublication of his Veddntasdra in 1815 and of The Precepts of Jesus:The Guide to Peace and Happiness in 1820 - forced others withinand without the Bengal Renaissance to follow or oppose his theses,thus defining their own ideological position. He himself was theHindu heir of a doubly cosmopolitan world: the fading one of theIndian Moguls, and the rising one of the Western Enlightenment.

His ideas and multiculturalism were, however, not altogether novelor unique: his contemporary Ramram Basu, for example, was also"receptive to Christianity", fascinated by Persian and Arabic culturesand antagonistic towards certain aspects of Hinduism, especially "thehated Brahmans" (Kopf 1969: 121). Like Roy, Basu thought veryhighly of the Gospel, but resisted actual conversion: "Both [men]preferred to reinterpret their own religious tradition rather than toaccept an alien faith" (ibid.: 125-6).3 The characteristics shared bythese two Bengali intellectuals - cosmopolitan culture, historicalconsciousness, spiritual crisis, criticism of Hindu orthodoxy and ofthe 'priestly caste', a sympathetic attitude towards important aspectsof the Christian message - define the Oriental version of theEnlightenment man. And it is indeed in an Enlightenment spirit,

2. Regarding the Bengal Renaissance (1800-23) see Kopf (1969, Part III).3. For more details on Basu, who is credited by Kopf (1969: 123) with being one of the

early pioneers of historical consciousness in Bengal, see ibid. (pp. 121-6).

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2. THE RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN YOGA

reliant on eighteenth-century European intellectual strivings, thatRoy started his reformation of Hinduism.

We already heard something about his interpretation of Vedanta inChapter 1, and we will hear more in Chapter 4. Here we shall look insome detail at his position vis-a-vis the Christian faith. Roy's Preceptsof Jesus stressed Christianity's ethical teachings and the role of Christas a sublime example of their application. However, he also held that"[Jesus'] disciples misunderstood Him, and that the whole edifice ofChristology [was] a huge mistake" (Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 33). Thisbook dispelled missionary hopes that the Bengali intellectual may beon the brink of conversion and, not surprisingly, caused controversywith Christian leaders. The Serampore Baptist missionary JoshuaMarshman (d. 1837) led the Christian defence, to which Rammohanreplied with three Appeals to the Christian Public (Robertson 1995:40). According to Robertson (ibid.: 41), "the Precepts, Appeals andMarshman's replies together did as much to disseminate Christianteachings [in India] as had been accomplished almost since WilliamCarey's (d. 1834) arrival in Bengal in 1793". As far as Neo-Vedantais concerned, however, Roy's position undoubtedly emerged as thewinning and more long-lasting one.

When the controversy started, Roy was attempting to clarify hisposition with regard to Christian dogma by translating the NewTestament into Bengali in collaboration with the Serampore mis-sionaries. The further developments of this venture are highly sig-nificant:

In the course of the work serious discussions arose and collaborationceased; but one of the missionaries, the Rev. W. Adam, sided withRammohan, and became a Unitarian in May, 1821. This led to theformation in September, 1821, of a Unitarian Mission in Calcuttaunder a committee of Europeans and Indians. (Farquhar 1977 [1914]:34)

Even though this specific mission did not last, the future pattern ofcollaboration set to replace the fading Orientalist dialogue wasestablished: what Neo-Vedanta was to adopt from Christianity wereits more "spiritual" and esoteric teachings, as modernized, sum-marized, represented and propagated by Unitarians.4

4. For further information on the interaction between Unitarians and Brahmos see Lavan(1984).

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This is where the common ground between Hinduism and Chris-tianity could be found, and also a close overlap between Neo-Vedantic esotericism and Western esotericism. Thus it is not sur-prising to hear that Marshman "charged Roy with repeating the oldArian heresy which reduced Christ to a mere man" (Roberston 1995:40) and, we may add from the classical Hindu point of view, withreducing Hinduism to a Neo-Vedantic-Christian darsana. This is howRoy "called down [on himself] the fiery condemnation of the Cal-cutta pandits" as well as of the Christian missionaries (ibid.: 41). Atroot, however, his was arguably the only possible irenic position,capable of retaining elements of both cultures, but in the processnecessarily playing down dogma and disregarding orthodoxy andorthopraxis on both sides.

How did these developments affect the proto Neo-Hindu context?Orientalism had already been strongly influenced by EnlightenmentHumanism; later Unitarian influences introduced that integratedblend of "Spiritualist" religion and Humanism which still lies at theroots of Neo-Vedantic ideology. When Unitarianism started toinfluence the Bengali intelligentsia it had already assimilated huma-nistic values into its worldview, while at the same time retaining itstheistic outlook.

Here it may be useful to review those central ideas of Unitarianismwhich, adopted virtually unanimously by sympathizers in India,Britain and the United States, created strong ideological and personalbonds among the individuals and institutions concerned:

The Unitarianism that ... linked Rammohun to his British counter-parts represented a new and radical approach to religion, society andethics ... Three simple though radical ideas for the time (1815 to1835) provided the link between the enlightened few in Calcutta andthe enlightened few in England and the United States.

The first was liberal religion, or the substitution of a rational faithfor the prevailing popular religions of the world, which, they thought,increasingly curtailed the freedom of human beings by enslaving themto mechanical rituals, irrational myths, meaningless superstitions, andother-worldly beliefs and values. The second was the idea of socialreform or emancipation in which all known penalized classes andgroupings such as workers, peasants, and women were to be elevatedthrough education and the extension of civil rights to participate fullyin the benefits of modern civilization. Finally, there was the idea ofuniversal theistic progress, or the notion that the perfectibility of

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mankind could be achieved by joining social reform to rational reli-gion. (Kopf 1979: 3)

These cross-influences had a profound effect not only on the pro-gressive formulation of Neo-Vedanta from Roy onwards, but also onthe ongoing definition of Unitarian doctrines and sympathies. If Roy'sBrahmo Samaj was strongly influenced by Unitarianism, so wasEmerson's Transcendentalism strongly influenced by Roy's Neo-Vedanta. Such exchanges centred around Unitarian/Brahmo contacts,and these had been made possible by the co-operative mentality andcommonality of language and values established by earlier Orientalistinfluences. Early Neo-Vedanta moved closer to Western-style esotericliberalism by absorbing the values and worldview of UnitarianChristianity. This started a process of dialogue and cross-fertilizationthat is still active to this day.

A further important development of Neo-Vedanta took place inBengal in the few decades before and after the beginning of thenineteenth century. This was the growth of publishing and literacy,which in turn led to the formation of a 'public opinion'.5 The Ser-ampore Mission, as Kopf (1969: 189-90) points out, was especiallyimportant in stimulating the promotion of local cultural conscious-ness. As early as 1818 the Mission established three separate journalsand newspapers, after which "Bengalis followed Serampore's leadand started their own journalistic ventures, thereby greatly adding tothe existing media for communication" (ibid.: 189). By 1822 thethree main 'progressive' religious positions6 present in the region hadbeen given regular journalistic voices (quite apart from other ad hoccontroversies), while foreign influences, including liberal theism and"spiritualism", were also being actively integrated into local culture.

Conditions were perfect for the emergence of a lively cultic milieu.On the one hand we find, among other things, the sudden influx offoreign (and at times contradictory)7 ideas, with the cultural turmoilthat this almost unfailingly engenders. On the other we see the fastdevelopment of communication networks facilitating the emergence

5. See Kopf (1969: 20, 72, 114, 115) and Bayly (1996: 284, 302-8).6. These were the Serampore missionaries, the Neo-Hindus and Modern Hindu Tradi-

tionalists. For details of the three newspapers and a brief analysis of their positions seeKopf (1969: 189-92).

7. For example, the missionaries' own controversies, and their discrepancies with theBritish powers.

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of social representation, individual expression and, last but not least,charismatic leaders. The Bengali intelligentsia was getting ready tolead India forward on the road of 'native improvement' and, even-tually, of 'nation building'. It would soon be followed by the othertwo presidencies, Bombay and Madras, where important culticmilieus were also to develop.

Neo-Vedantic Enlightenment to Neo-Vedantic Romanticism

The Brahmo Samaj remained dormant for about a decade betweenthe death of Rammohan Roy (1833) and the time at whichDebendranath Tagore assumed its leadership (1843). This did notmean, however, that new ideologies and intellectual speculations didnot reach Bengal during this period. If anything, the decline ofOrientalism which went hand in hand with the establishment ofAnglicist policies over the period 1828 to 1835 (Kopf 1969, Part V)opened India even more to Western ideas, so that modern science andhumanities became part of the standard intellectual background ofeducated Bengalis. As the century progressed, Anglicist policies,mirroring the growth of British imperialism and of its political,financial and technological might, became more and more ethno-centric. Mill's History of British India (1997 [1817]), with its harshattacks on Indian culture and mores, is an early example of thisideological stance. Missionary policies also became aggressivethroughout what Kopf (1969: 159) calls "the Age of Alexander Duff"(1830 to 1857).8

The Neo-Vedantic reaction to such challenges was taken up byDebendranath Tagore, who actively sought to neutralize missionaryefforts at conversion of the younger generation, and who revived theBrahmo Samaj both institutionally and in terms of doctrinal content.His strategy worked: "Under Debendranath's devoted leadership, theBrahmo Samaj attracted numbers of Bengal's ablest young men"(Hay 1988: 38). These facts are well known. What is less well knownare the esoteric, cultic and sectarian aspects of Tagore's life and work.We discuss them below, and the same procedure will subsequently befollowed for Keshubchandra Sen.

8. Duff was an influential Scottish missionary. See also note 7, Chapter 3.

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Tagore's intellectual background

Tagore's Hinduism, we should bear in mind, was built on the inter-pretative foundations established by Roy, and these were thoroughlyintermixed with Western cultural models and values.9 Tagore himselfwas a cosmopolitan member of the Bengali intelligentsia who waswell aware of intellectual developments in the West. Oldest son of thewealthy Dwarkanath Tagore (and father of the poet Rabindranath),he was well acquainted with Western thought from early on by wayof his education and through personal reading. Debendranath's sonSatyendranath reports that his father received his early education atthe school founded by Roy - guaranteed to have a liberal approach toknowledge - and that he subsequently attended Hindu College(Tagore, S. 1909: i). Here "useful knowledge from the West",including "European literature and European science", was "trans-mitted without ethnocentric bias" (Kopf 1969: 181). In his auto-biography, the elderly Debendranath stated that he "had readnumerous English works on philosophy" in his youth, but that theydid not provide the answers he was seeking (Tagore, D. 1909: 9).There is nevertheless ample evidence that such studies helped sub-stantially to shape his thinking, and therefore his interpretations ofHinduism.

O'Malley (1968: 67) gives us a thumbnail sketch of Tagore'seclectic predilections: he "spent three years in solitary contemplationin the Himalayas, chanted the poetry of Persian Sufis, and shared intheir mysticism; but he also studied the works of Hume, Fichte andVictor Cousin, and was familiar with the principles of rationalisticphilosophy". But most interesting from our point of view is how theevangelical missionary T. E. Slater - a contemporary of Tagore, who,sympathetic and sensitive to the concerns of the Brahmo Samaj, islikely to have had access to primary informants10 - qualifies Tagore'sview of Cousin. Slater (1884: 33) states that Tagore "studied Hume,Brown, Fichte, Kant, and Cousin, the last of whom he counted hisgreatest guru". A brief reminder about Cousin's (1792-1867) views

9. "Devendranath's entire religious career was based upon, and had its sustenance from,the teachings of Rammohan, his real though informal guru" (Chaudhuri 1973: 20).

10. Like Vivekananda, Slater was a delegate at the 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions(Chowdhury-Sengupta 1998: 23).

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helps us to start redressing our esoteric myopia by evidencing the lessknown aspects of Tagore's religiosity. This French philosopher was

[a] spokesman for the Juste Milieu, which in fact stood for philoso-phical eclecticism. He was influenced, in turn by Locke and Condillac,the Scottish Commonsense Philosophy of Thomas Reid and Ferguson,Maine De Biran, Schelling and Hegel. Out of these elements he wasable to create a fusion of ideas turning philosophy in the direction of"spiritualism". (Reese 1996: 145)

Cousin's appreciation of India as "the cradle of the human race [and]the native land of the highest philosophy" (O'Malley 1968: 801)would also have contributed to attract Tagore's sympathies. So muchfor Tagore's intellectual guru.

Hindu by birth and mystically inclined by nature, Debendranath,while taking them on board, cannot fully accept Western scientismand rationalism as his ideological bases. And neither can he, as Roy'sspiritual heir, turn to classical forms of Hinduism. Cousin's eclecticsynthesis provides him with a framework combining the philoso-phical Romanticism of German Idealism with modern empiricism.This framework is then used to further develop Brahmo Neo-Vedantaalong more modern lines. But beneath the modern eclecticism andsophistication we can detect the old esoteric quandary. Tagore, likemany others before and after him, is attempting to address thatinescapable problem of modernity, i.e. how to harmonize 'science'and 'religion'. Like many other modern seekers, he is striving "toobtain God, not through blind faith but by the light of knowledge"(Tagore, D. 1909: 9).

Tagore's doctrinal and ritual innovations

Tagore's intellectual background is reflected in his doctrinal inno-vations, through which he further distanced the Samaj from classicalHinduism. We shall discuss three of his doctrinal and one of his ritualinnovations, all directly relevant to the esotericization of Neo-Vedanta and to the emergence of Modern Yoga. Firstly, he rejectedthe authority of the Vedas (and all of the traditional accoutrementsthat this authority stood for), for which he substituted a personalepistemology of intuition based on the "pure heart". This, secondly,led Tagore to redefine the central Hindu theory of karma and rebirth

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along historicist and evolutionary lines. Thirdly, the combinedinfluence of Tagore's novel epistemology, of the discoveries of com-parative religion and of his collaborator Dutt (see below) led theBrahmo leader to theorize the establishment of a universal "natural"or "scientific" religion. And lastly, Tagore introduced a form ofinitiation into the Brahmo Samaj. This ritual, as will becomeapparent, was radically different from the forms of initiation usuallyfound in classical Hinduism.

Intuitional epistemology

Tagore himself describes how he came to doubt the authority of theVedas. He explains how, having studied the Hindu scriptures, hefound that he could accept certain sections of the Vedas and of theUpanisads, but not others (Tagore, D. 1909, Chapter 22). Here theinfluence of his close collaborator Akkhoykumar Dutt (1820-86), afollower of rationalism, deism and scientism, was crucial (Kopf 1979:49; Tagore, S. 1909: iii). More about Dutt later. As for Tagore, heeventually decided that a discriminative exegesis, capable of decidingwhich passages were to be accepted as normative, should be based onthe understanding of "[t]he pure heart, filled with the light of intuitiveknowledge", because "Brahma reigned in the pure heart alone"(Tagore, D. 1909: 75). He then concluded that "The pure, unso-phisticated heart was the seat of Brahmoism" and that Brahmos"could accept those texts only of the Upanishads which accordedwith that heart. Those sayings that disagreed with the heart [they]could not accept" (ibid.). This obviously undermined the idea of theVedas as an infallible source of revelation, a development that wouldbe officially sanctioned by the Samaj in 1850 (Kopf 1979: 106; Far-quhar 1977 [1914]: 45).

Evolutionary spirituality

In order to illustrate his difficulties with the canonical texts, Tagorequoted two passages - one cosmological, the other more didactic -relating to human life and death. The first passage (ChandogyaUpanisad 5.10.3-6) consists of what is often regarded as "the earliestsystematic statement of the doctrine of karma and rebirth" (White

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1996: 29).n This cosmological model of "photic opposition betweendarkness and li^ht" (White 1996: 29) is found in several Upanisads aswell as in the Satapatha Brdhmana.12 Tagore could not accept thispassage as containing any truth, indeed it "appeared to [him] to beunworthy vain imaginings" (Tagore, D. 1909: 76). The didacticpassage, on the other hand, on how to lead a good life, he foundmuch more convincing: one should study the Vedas while serving theteacher; go on to establish a pious household; support oneself byearning wealth in rightful ways; and practise self-control and ahimsa("non-harming"). After such a life a person would, on dying, enter"Brahma-loka ... and never return ... to this world any more, no,nevermore" (ibid.)}3

Tagore then proceeds to give his own exposition of human tele-ology. He does this by mixing some elements of these two passageswith Christian concepts of heaven and hell, and with an optimistictheory of evolutive ascensional metempsychosis strongly reminiscentof Swedenborgian theories. In Tagore's vision the "Soul" (which heregards as an individuated entity as it is said never to lose its

11. The passage reads as follows in Olivelle's translation (1998):The people here in villages, on the other hand, who venerate thus: 'Gift-giving isofferings to gods and to priests' - they pass into the smoke, from the smoke into thenight, from the night into the fortnight of the waning moon, and from the fortnightof the waning moon into the six months when the sun moves south. These do notreach the year but from these months pass into the world of the fathers, and fromthe world of the fathers into space, and from space into the moon. This is KingSoma, the food of the gods, and the gods eat it. They remain there as long as there isa residue, and then they return by the same path they went - first to space, and fromspace to the wind. After the wind has formed, it turns into smoke; after the smokehas formed, it turns into a thundercloud; after the thundercloud has formed, it turnsinto a rain-cloud; after the rain-cloud has formed, it rains down. On earth theyspring up as rice and barley, plants and trees, sesame and beans, from which it isextremely difficult to get out. When someone eats the food and deposits the semen,from him one comes into being again.

12. White (1996: 364, note 52) lists Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 6.2.13-16; ChandogyaUpanisad 5.10.1-7; Prasna Upanisad i.9-10; Kausitaki Upanisad 1.2-3; and SatapathaBrdhmana 2.1.3.1-9.

13. The passage in question is Chandogya Upanisad 8.15.1, which reads as follows inOlivelle's translation (1998):

All this Brahma told to Prajapati; Prajapati to Manu; and Manu to his children.From the teacher's house - where he learned the Veda in the prescribed manner

during his free time after his daily tasks for the teacher - he returns, and then, in hisown house, he does his daily vedic recitation in a clean place, rears virtuous chil-dren, draws in all his sense organs into himself, and refrains from killing anycreature except for a worthy person - someone who lives this way all his life attainsthe world of brahman, and he does not return again.

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"separate consciousness"; Tagore, D. 1909: 78), if sufficiently"purified",

attains to sacred regions upon leaving this earth, and casting off hisanimal nature receives a body divine. In that sacred sphere he obtains abrighter vision of the glory of God, and having reached higher stages ofwisdom, love and virtue he is translated to higher regions. Thus risinghigher and higher ... that divine soul [is carried] onwards towardseverlasting progress. (Ibid.: 76-7)

The heaven/hell (or rather heaven/purgatory) model comes into playwhen sinners have to be accounted for: "He who sins ... andrepenteth not ... enters into doleful regions after death" (ibid.: 77).But ultimately all evolution is ascensional and progressive, as thesinner, "after having continually burnt [in the sinful regions] with theagonies of remorse for his tortuous deeds [ultimately reaches]expiation", "receives grace", and in turn starts off on the ascensionalpath (ibid.). "By the grace of God", Tagore concludes,

the soul is infinitely progressive, - overcoming sin and sorrow thisprogressive soul must and will progress onwards and upwards, - it willnot decline again upon earth. Sin never reigns triumphant in God'sholy kingdom. The soul is first born in the human body, - after death itwill assume appropriate forms and pass from sphere to sphere in orderto work out the fruits of its merit and demerit, - and will not againreturn here. (Ibid.)

This important doctrinal statement of "evolutionary spirituality"should be read in the light of the comments made in Chapter 1concerning the assimilation of Romantic thought and evolutionarytheories by esotericism. It will then be clear that while Tagore defi-nitely brings Neo-Vedanta closer to the esoterico-Romantic stream,he is still not touched by the secular and mechanistic thought formstypical of occultism. If the soul is said to be on a journey of "spiritualevolution", this is "By the grace of God": it is by an act of grace thatsinners are eventually freed of their burdens. Tagore's teachings arebased on strong theistic foundations and lack the more subjective andhighly secularized contents typical of the later "spiritualist" (Sen) andoccultistic (Vivekananda) types of Neo-Vedanta. In this sense (and inthis sense only) Tagore's Brahmo Samaj has still some of the socio-religious and cultural coherence of classical Hinduism. Later in the

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nineteenth century this will be less and less the case, with the twoyounger Brahmo factions breaking loose from Tagore's aging Adi("Original") Samaj and gravitating towards opposite poles of"enthusiastic" mysticism (Sen's Brahmo Samaj of India) and secularliberalism (Sadharan Brahmo Samaj).

"Scientific religion"

Since he started harbouring doubts about the authoritativeness of theVedas, Tagore had been asking himself "what was to be the commonground for all Brahmos", finally deciding (somewhat inconsistently)that what they required was "a sacred book" (Tagore, D. 1909: 80).This led him to compose one himself, the Brahmo Dharma (1850),containing two sections: one 'doctrinal5, the other 'ethical5 (Tagore,D. 1909: 81, 83). In this he was helped by Akkhoykumar Dutt.

Proceeding to apply his new epistemological approach, Tagore"laid [his] heart fervently open to God55 and the "spiritual truths thatdawned on [his] heart through His grace55 were taken down on dic-tation by Dutt (ibid.: 80). Thus "by the grace of God, and through thelanguage of the Upanishads" the Brahmo leader "evolved the foun-dations of the Brahmo Dharma ... Within three hours the [doctrinalsection of the] book ... was completed55 (ibid.: 81). The second,ethical part of the book contained a code of everyday morals collatedfrom the Manu- and other smrtis, from the Tantras and from theMahdbhdrata, including the Bhagavad Gitd (ibid.: 83). It is here that,according to Kopf (1979: 106), we find the official birth of theBrahmo Puritan ethic. However, as the same author points out, "thesources justifying the ethic are not from Calvin reinterpreting Moses,but from Debendranath reinterpreting Manu55 (ibid.). From this timeonward the cultivation of Puritan virtues and of "self improvementthrough Puritan practices55 becomes prominent in the Brahmo Samaj(ibid.).

Dutt5s rationalistic influence is evident in the second part ofBrahmo Dharma (ibid.), as it is evident in his own Dharma Niti(1855), in which he attempted "to apply his notion of natural law toethics" (Kopf 1979: 51). The latter text shows how, like many post-Enlightenment thinkers, Dutt had a moving faith in the powers ofscience and in the predictability and trainability of humans. For him"the aim of [proper] education was the fully developed human being55

who has learnt "the physical and mental rules of God55 (ibid.: 52-3).

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He recommended an educational system that would arouse "scientificcuriosity" in "the wonders of the endless universe" (ibid.: 53), andheld a positivist view of human affairs: "Human society," he wrote,"is like a machine and its pluralistic sub-units or sub-cultures are thewheels" (ibid.). Given such scientistic premises, Dutt also strove todefine a "universal science of religion" based on natural laws ofuniversal applicability. By 1854 he had defined the Brahmo creed interms of a universalistic, humanist "natural religion" based on "amoral doctrine urging that good be done to others" and on theapplication of a this-worldly asceticism regulated by the Brahmoethic: "The asceticism of self-inflicted torture is a perverted and crudepractice ... There is no injunction of the Brahmo religion to renouncethe world ... All true worshippers of God practice [sic] meditation,devotion, acquire knowledge and do good to others."14 Religion,therefore, whether "natural" or "scientific", is reduced to a code ofmorals which must be entertained by the individual with the help ofstandardized, accessible spiritual practices.

If evaluated from the point of view of the formation of Neo-Vedantic esotericism, Dutt can be seen as the opposite but alsocomplementary pole of Tagore. This is precisely how SatyendranathTagore describes the two men: his father was the "spiritual head" ofthe Samaj, while Dutt was the "intellectual leader" (Tagore, S. 1909:iii). Given that the ongoing agenda of post-Renaissance esotericism isthe harmonization of 'science' and 'religion', each of the two spe-cialists (i.e. the 'mystic' and the 'scientific humanist') could gain frominteracting with the other. Co-operation would allow both to expandthe range of their discourses, and to stimulate and validate eachother's thinking.15

Their thought was exemplarily synthesized by the important (Adi)Brahmo theorist Rajnarayan Bose, possibly Tagore's closest friendand co-operator over the years. In a work published in 1863,16 hedefined Brahmoism as "the prototype for the next stage of religious

14. Dutt, Who is a Brahmo?, as quoted in Kopf (1979: 51).15. Contra Kopf (1979: 49) who states that "It is a credit to Debendranath's broad sym-

pathies as a leader of the reformation movement that he could recognize and support ayoung intellectual whose [convictions] were so alien to his own highly mystical andintimate theistic faith." Kopf, not aware of esoteric trends, overlooks the fact that post-Enlightenment "spiritualism" established a close, if necessarily ambiguous, relationshipwith rationalism (Troeltsch 1931: 749). Kopf's evaluation might have been applicable ifTagore had been a 'pure' mystic, rather than a "spiritualist" one.

16. A Defense of Brahmoism and the Brahmo Samaj (Kopf 1979: 67).

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evolution in the world" and as possessing the key to the "science ofreligion" (Kopf 1979: 67). This key, Sen and to an even greater extentVivekananda will argue, is pre-eminently found in the Indian tradi-tions of yoga.

Thanks to such elaborations the idea of a "science of religion" hadbecome common currency in Brahmo circles by the second half of thenineteenth century. What Brahmos meant by this was "the discoveryof natural laws about religion [based on] the comparative study ofreligions carried on without sectarian bias, and leading to a unifiedconcept of the religion of man" (ibid.). By this stage Tagore's Neo-Hindu Romanticism was starting to open itself up to a process ofsecularization. This trajectory would be continued by Sen, notwith-standing his ardent devotionalism, and completed by Vivekananda.As pointed out in the previous chapter and as apparent from theabove discussion, the modern study of religions and evolutionaryideas played an important part in this secularization process.

Initiation

A striking aspect of recent and contemporary Neo-Vedantic reli-giosity (including a number of Modern Yoga groups), especially inthe latter half of the twentieth century, is the plentifulness and easyavailability of 'initiations'. This phenomenon is linked to radicalchanges in the understanding and administration of these rites.Debendranath Tagore's life is once again revealing in this context,and also shows interesting parallels with Vivekananda's, as we shallsee in due course. We know from Tagore himself (Tagore, D. 1909:27-9) how he decided to establish a Brahmo initiation and how suchinitiation was finally administered in 1843. The Brahmo leaderreports:

... I [reflected] that there was no religious unity among the members ofthe Brahma Samaj. People kept coming and going to and from theSamaj like the ebb and flow of the tide, but they were not linkedtogether by a common religious belief. So when the numbers of theSamaj began to increase, I thought it necessary to pick and choose fromamong them. Some came really to worship, others came without anydefinite aim, - whom should we recognize as the true worshipper ofBrahma? Upon these considerations I decided that those who wouldtake a vow to renounce idolatry and resolve to worship one God, thesealone would be regarded as Brahmas. (Ibid.: 27)

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Bearing in mind the characteristics of cult and sect described inChapter 1, it will be at once apparent from Tagore's remarks that atfirst the Brahmo Samaj was based on the free-flowing, looselystructured associationism typical of a cult. As membership swelledand the social profile of the group became more visible, the youngleader felt the need to start making more demands on members,insisting, for example, that they should make a public declaration oftheir commitment by taking a "vow of initiation", i.e. by pronoun-cing a "declaration of faith for initiation into the Brahma Dharma"(ibid.). He felt the need to structure, circumscribe and organize thegroup by establishing a hierarchy that separated an 'inner circle' ofinitiates from an 'outer circle' of less committed sympathizers. Allthese signs clearly indicate an orientational shift from cult- to sect-type voluntaristic associationism, even though the Brahmo Samaj hasalways been too strongly liberal and/or "spiritualist" to become afully-fledged, tightly structured, exclusivist sect.

We will further note that Tagore himself shaped the ritual formand doctrinal content of the initiation (ibid.: 27-8), which he alsounderwent, thus effectively initiating himself. The fact of establishinga "vow of initiation" formula is a major shift from traditionalpractice, as in this fashion the initiation-granting authority isappropriated by the person undergoing the ritual and withdrawnfrom the transmission lineage (Sanskrit parampard). Being initiatedbecomes a voluntaristic, self-motivated choice as opposed to repre-senting acceptance into a certain socio-religious structure by way ofritual assimilation granted, bestowed and administered by seniormembers as representatives of authority. Even though Roy's oldfriend and collaborator Vidyabagish actually officiated at the cere-mony, there is no doubt that the Samaj's 'spiritual' authority anddecisional power rested in Tagore's hands, a fact amply confirmed byevents in Samaj history up to the first (1866) fission, and even up toTagore's death, if in changing fashion. As we shall see, Vivekananda's(self-)initiation about half a century later is similarly unorthodox,only more so.

Another interesting parallel can be detected between Tagore'sfollowers and Vivekananda's. An "enthusiastic" and emotionalatmosphere pervades both groups. The same fervent "spiritualist"approach is found in the latter part of Keshubchandra Sen's career,thus marking out the transmission line from the early Tagore to the

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late Sen to Vivekananda as the most radically "spiritualist" strand ofthe Brahmo Samaj. By comparison, other strands of the Samaj willappear more conservative (Adi Brahmo Samaj of the late Tagore) ormore concerned with social reform (Sadharan Brahmo Samaj).Tagore's "spiritualism" was, however, much less radical than Sen'sand far less secularized than Vivekananda's.

There is much evidence showing the emotional quality of Tagore'sBrahmo gatherings. Tagore himself narrates that as he and his friendssat waiting to undergo initiation "a strange enthusiasm was awa-kened in our breasts" (ibid.: 28). He then got up and pronounced his"vow of initiation" in front of Vidyabagish, who, "On hearing[Tagore's] exhortation ... and seeing [his] singleness of purpose, ...shed tears" (ibid.). Tagore continues: "the day of initiation intoBrahma Dharma was [a] day of days ... [By] taking refuge in Brahmawe had entered into the Brahma religion ... Our enthusiasm anddelight knew no bounds" (ibid.). Two years later 500 persons hadtaken the vow, among all of whom there was "a wonderful brotherlyfeeling ... such as is rarely met with even amongst brothers" (ibid.:29). When an all-night anniversary festival was organized at Tagore'sgardenhouse at Gorki in the same year (1845) the group's "goodwill,affection and enthusiasm had full play" throughout the night and,when the sun rose, the group "raised a paean of praise to Brahma,and sitting in the shade of a tree adorned with fruit and flowers,[they] delighted and sanctified [themselves] by worshipping God withall [their] heart" (ibid.).

An incident that took place in 1848 shows how the quality andmood of congregational life had changed since Roy's time. FollowingTagore's reading of a prayerful invocation at a Brahmo meeting hefound that his congregation was in tears: "such feelings had neverbefore been witnessed in the Brahma Samaj", he remarked. "Hithertothe severe and sacred flame of knowledge alone had been lighted inBrahma's shrine, now he was worshipped with the flowers of heart-felt love" (ibid.: 88). Indeed, as Tagore himself seemed to sense, his'new' Samaj had shifted from the rationalistic, exoteric, liberal reli-giosity of Rammohan Roy to a fullness of individualistic motifs andRomantic emotional devotionalism.

About two decades later, in 1866, Keshubchandra Sen wouldsecede from Tagore's Samaj and go on to change the nature of theassociation even further by establishing his own Brahmo Samaj of

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India. This schism fractured the cohesion of the Samaj irreparably,and the group started on a typically culto-sectarian history of fissionsand diatribes that would eventually result in a weakening of allBrahmo denominations. As for Tagore, his son Satyendranath reportsthat "[a]fter Keshab's separation, [he] practically retired from activework in the Samaj" (Tagore, S. 1909: xix). Debendranath Tagore'sautobiography, written many years later near the end of his long life,comes to an abrupt halt with his return from the Himalayas inNovember 1858. Sen and Tagore met early in 1859, but Tagorerefrained from reporting on the aftermath of this meeting, which wasdestined, again according to Satyendranath, "to work a great revo-lution in the Samaj" (ibid.: viii).

From Neo-Vedantic Romanticism to Neo-Vedantic"spiritualism"

This is one of the most misunderstood periods of Neo-VedanticHinduism: if esoteric myopia could be compensated for when dis-cussing earlier periods, it would really show up here. During the lastquarter of the nineteenth century esoteric ideas became so widespreadin educated circles both East and West that historians of religion canhardly avoid coming across one or another of their manifestations.And if they cannot recognize them, or do not have the methodolo-gical tools to analyse them, their clarity of vision in discussing thesubject is bound to be affected.

A good example of this is David Kopf (1969; 1979), the otherwiseoutstanding scholar whose works have been used as central second-ary sources in the present study. As we saw in the foregoing discus-sion, this author recognizes and discusses most of the key discoursesof the time: Orientalist, Anglicist, Christian, rationalist, humanist,etc. He does not, however, recognize the importance of esotericdevelopments within Brahmo Samaj ideology. This does not affect histreatment of British Orientalism (Kopf 1969), but becomes margin-ally noticeable in his treatment of Debendranath Tagore and Dutt(see note 15 above) and very noticeable in his treatment of Sen (Kopf1979, Chapter 9), in whom Neo-Vedantic esoteric "spiritualism"finds its full flower.

Kopf's overall appraisal of the Brahmo leader's religious career isrevealing in this context: "Keshub's New Dispensation", Kopf states,

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"was one of the great intellectual achievements of the nineteenthcentury" ibid.: 316). Sen's teachings, however, as we shall see in theremaining part of the present chapter, were not especially novel orunique if seen from the point of view of the ongoing East-Westelaboration of esotericism. Also, while Kopf does point to the exis-tence of ideological links between Sen and Vivekananda (ibid.: 314,205), he does not seem to realize how crucial these links were to theformation of the most socio-politically influential form of liberalmodern Hinduism, i.e. Neo-Vedanta. It could indeed be argued that ifthe Sadharan Brahmo Samaj represents the secular substratum ofwhat Kopf (1979) calls the "modern Indian mind", Sen's New Dis-pensation represents its esoteric one - far less known but neverthelessextremely influential. These two modes of thought, in fact, whileopposite, are also strongly complementary in this characteristic formamentis, which casts the foundational esoteric polarity of 'religion'and/vs. 'science' in characteristic Indie mould. The unselfconsciousNeo-Vedantin, not altogether 'religious' and not altogether 'secular',is likely to hold them both at once: albeit in neatly compartmenta-lized fashion.17 As we shall see more fully in Chapters 3 and 4, thesewere the foundations on which Neo-Vedantic occultism would pro-gressively be built from the last quarter of the nineteenth centuryonwards.

The Eastern outreaches of Western esotericism

If occultism would start to take root in Bengali cultic milieus fromabout the 1870s onwards, we should not forget that Western eso-tericism had been present in the subcontinent for much longer.Freemasonry, which was already becoming established in India by the1760s,18 is a good case in point, and possibly much more directlyrelevant to the shaping of Brahmo ideas and to the formation of Neo-Vedantic ideology than can be shown here.19 Freemasonic endea-vours would have been highly compatible with, if not similarto, Brahmo religious universalism. Freemasons are in fact "joined

17. See Warrier (2000) for fieldwork evidence clearly pointing in this direction - thoughthis is not the way the author interprets her findings.

18. Lodges had been established in Calcutta (1730), Madras (1752) and Bombay (1758);see Gould (1920: 317).

19. I am not aware of any published material discussing the spread and influence ofFreemasonry in India over the last couple of centuries. Any such study would no doubtcontain very interesting data.

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together in an association based on brotherly love, faith and charity.The one essential qualification for membership is a belief in asupreme being" (Goring 1995: 182). Freemasonry is "non-political"and "open to men of any religion" (ibid.), and its leaders think it is"more expedient only to oblige [members] to the religion in which allmen agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, tobe good Men and true, or men of Honour and Honesty, by whateverDenominations or Persuasions they may be distinguished".20

From the seventeenth century, Freemasonry was favoured by asubstantial number of European aristocrats (Goring 1995: 182), andthis tradition seems to have continued in colonial India. The Earl ofMoira (later Marquess of Hastings), for example, not only succeededLord Minto as Governor-General of India in 1813, but also acted asGrand Masonic Master for that country (Gould 1920: 318). Aquarter of a century later in Bombay Dr James Burn laboured "tothrow open the portals of Freemasonry to native gentlemen", and hisefforts were crowned with success in 1843 with the establishment ofthe Rising Star of Western India Lodge. By the early 1880s "it was thefashion with the Indians to become members of the Freemasonry.Lawyers, Judges and Government officials were its members. Thus,the membership gave a chance to mix with the high dignitaries andofficials."21 By 1920 there were 183 lodges in the three presidencies(Gould 1920: 318).22

Such ideals of religious universalism, however, were not foundexclusively among Freemasons. The rationalistic optimism of theEnlightenment had encouraged a number of visionaries and intel-lectuals to work out their own systems of religiosity and/or ofsocial Utopia, as amply demonstrated by Godwin (1994). Someconnections can be found between British Orientalists and theseinnovators as these circles seem to have overlapped, at least tosome degree. In 1782, for example, General Charles R. Rainsford,a Freemason,

20. Williams (1974: 15-16, quoting from "Freemasonry" entry in Encyclopedia Britannica(Vol. 9; Chicago, 1960: 735)).

21. Williams (1974: 15, quoting Bhupendranath Datta).22. Presumably 1920, as the source consulted explicitly states that the text was "abridged,

revised, rewritten and updated". It has so far not been possible to cross-check thisinformation with the two previous editions (1882-87 (2 vols) and 1903).

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published a call to alchemists, Kabbalists and Freemasons to join a new"Universal Society," intended to "conciliate all doctrines, and even allinterests, making constant use of all its talents and directing all itsenergies to the general wellbeing of the whole Earth, and the particularadvantage of the country in which it is established". (Ibid.: 104)

One of Rainsford's esoteric associates was Peter Woulfe, who wasalso a follower of the apocalyptic prophet Richard Brothers (ibid.) -the very same visionary that the Orientalist Nathaniel Halhedbelieved in and championed in the second part of his life (Marshall1970: 9, 30).23 We have further seen how other Orientalists hadesoteric leanings in Chapter 1.

Far more detailed research would be needed to reconstruct suchpatterns of connection and interaction and the ways in which theseaffected Indian religious sentiments. What is clear, however, from arelatively superficial study of the sources is that strong undercurrentsof Enlightenment universalism and radical philanthropy, also keyingredients of Sen's religious synthesis, were already well establishedin Western esoteric discourses by the end of the eighteenth century,when British Orientalism brought its modernizing influence to bearon the Indian subcontinent.24 The Brahmo Samaj adopted such tra-ditions, along with the liberal and to a degree esoteric creed of Uni-tarianism, and attempted to give them a Hindu form. From Roythrough to Sen and Vivekananda, the Brahmos would shape anddefend their Enlightened, Romantic and "spiritualist" Neo-Vedanta,and attempt to defuse the perceived threat of Christianity byabsorbing numerous Christian themes and forms into it. Theseideological developments were in good part based on the Neo-Vedantic appropriation of the Western esoteric motif of India'sspiritual superiority. Indeed, this ideological theme became an

23. For Halhed's biography see Rocher (1983), who comments: "Halhed often subsumes inhis own person the incongruities of his time. The Age of Reason was not free ofmystical and aberrant beliefs ... It was troubled by the revelation of Eastern doctrinesand life styles, to which it reacted with alternate gusts of enthusiasm and disdain"(ibid.-, vi).

24. As Kopf points out (1979: 351, note 9), "The universalist aspect of Bengal renaissanceideology has generally been ignored in favor of Westernizing and nationalist aspects" -a lacuna which he tries to fill, but only with limited success as he does not realize thatthe universalist religious theme is predominantly connected with esoteric discourses.

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important weapon in the Neo-Hindu apologetic armoury. Let us seein more detail how this came about.

India responds as 'esoteric Other*

With regards to the West, Troeltsch (1931: 749) describes the rise of"mystic and spiritual religion" (i.e. cultic esotericism) as the rise ofthe "secret religion of the educated classes". This description couldsimilarly be applied (mutatis mutandis] to the emergence of culticmilieus and the propagation of Neo-Vedantic ideology in India. TheBengali intelligentsia, however, did not need to keep its religion"secret". While Western "spiritualism" and Romantic esotericismwere often critical of Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxis, and hencewere better not flaunted except in cases of extremism, the corre-sponding Neo-Hindu forms could easily be presented and interpretedas a moving away from the 'superstitions' and 'idolatry' of classicalHinduism towards a more promising (from a Christian missionaryand colonial point of view) 'theism'. What may have appeared asdangerous marginalism bordering on heresy in Europe could easily beread as a turning away from 'heathenism' and a rapprochementtowards Christianity in the Indian context. Given enough time,Hindu theists would hopefully turn into Christian converts. From thepoint of view of a budding Indian nationalism, on the other hand,these discourses could be seen as themes of a renascent Hinduism, a"scientific religion" purified of its outdated traditions through eageracquisition and adaptation of modern approaches to knowledge.

These peculiar conditions produced one important consequence:the ideological space occupied by East-West religious discoursesremained remarkably unstructured, as socially authoritative foracapable of monitoring the quality of intellectual production werenever created. The elaboration of Neo-Vedantic ideology, and pos-sibly of Neo-Hindu ideology at large, remained therefore wide opennot only to creative experimentation and innovation, but also todilettantism and egocentric self-affirmation. This trend was re-inforced by the gradual shift of British colonial rule from Orientalistto Anglicist policies, a change that further increased the structuraldivide between socio-political powers and the elaboration of modernIndian religious culture.

Furthermore, by the first half of the nineteenth century a ratherRomanticized and mythologized 'India' had also become one of the

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two main "spiritual" interlocutors of Western esotericism, the otherone being 'Egypt'.25 This tallied with the important motif of the'gnostic superiority' of Indians. Already adumbrated, as we saw, byOrientalists, this theme was later adopted by Neo-Vedantins26 andelaborated into important apologetic motifs such as the one postu-lating the constructive co-operation of a "spiritual East" and a"materialist West" (King 1978).

If these developments can be seen to have their source in theWestern colonial enterprise and especially in the socio-politicaldomination that was part and parcel of British Orientalism, it shouldnot be assumed that Indians did not play an active role in them. Quitethe contrary, those Indian minorities that out of interest or choicecame to identify themselves with progressive, modernist and liberalideas - Brahmos foremost among them - immediately started to playan active role in shaping such constructs. And some among them -those that are most relevant to the present discussion - gladly took onthe cloak of "spiritual advisers" and "experts", with or withoutencouragement from Eastern and Western admirers.

It is thus that we witness the appearance of the first Neo-Vedanticgurus (see below), who, with their entourage of practitioners andtheorists, started to propagate more or less coherent Neo-Vedanticteachings within India and, eventually, abroad. These individualsactively contributed to the shaping of some forms of 'alternativereligiosity', many of which would in due course come under theumbrella of New Age religion. Both Campbell (1972; 1978) andHanegraaff (1996) acknowledge as much, but do not discuss the role

25. Both Hanegraaff (1996: 442-62) and Godwin (1994, Chapters 14-17) have traced thistheme back to its roots, and have pointed out how it also implied a major conceptualshift away from Christianity:

Originally, esotericists had pointed to Hermes and Zoroaster as the fountains of aperennial wisdom which had attained to full flower in Christianity. Now, in asecularized climate and under the impact of the new knowledge about Orientalreligions, the sources of wisdom were moved increasingly eastward and Christianitywas believed not to have fulfilled but to have corrupted them. (Hanegraaff 1996:448)

The same authors also show how similar ideas were widely popularized by the Theo-sophical Society (Hanegraaff 1996: 448-55; Godwin 1994, Chapters 14-17). In thiscontext see also Bevir (1994) and, regarding more modern aspects of the same phenomenon, Cox (1979).

26. See, for example, Rammohan Roy who, in 1819, wrote: "by a reference to history itmay be proved that the world was indebted to our ancestry for the first dawns ofknowledge which sprang in the East" (quoted by Sil 1997: 50).

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played by Neo-Vedanta in any detail as they look more closely at theWestern rather than at the Oriental or Orient-inspired aspects of thisphenomenon.

This, however, creates its own problems, as, for example, inCampbell (1972: 125) where Buddhism and Hinduism are said to be"widely disseminated throughout the cultic milieu" because theyhave "mysticism as their central ingredient". Here Campbell fails torealize that what he is discussing are not these religions in theirtotality, but Neo-Buddhist27 and Neo-Vedantic versions of them, i.e.the characterizations of Hinduism and Buddhism most frequentlyfound in the cultic milieu. These are represented as overwhelminglyspiritual and mystical, while the more complex, culturally andchronologically layered religious contents that are rooted in the tra-ditions' classical periods are usually left out or over-simplified. Andwhile contemporary representatives of classical Hinduism are likelyto consider Neo-Vedantic spokespersons hardly authoritative inmatters of religion, the liberal, modernist and revivalistic factionswhich propagate the ideological core of Neo-Vedanta in the con-temporary world are the most vocal (and anglophone) on the globalstage, and have no compunction in suggesting that their own viewsare representative of Hinduism as a whole. Thus many who do nothave the time or inclination to examine these groups' claims end upbelieving that Neo-Vedanta is all Hinduism is about.

As previously mentioned, however, more critical and discriminat-ing studies on Neo-Vedanta and related subjects are starting toappear. This will no doubt help to shed light on important aspects ofmodern religiosity East and West, including Modern Yoga and theflourishing of modern-style meditative practices. In this context, thefollowing discussion on our next Brahmo leader will prove of specialrelevance.

27. Here I am implying that different but somewhat comparable processes of moderniza-tion have happened in Buddhist contexts. For interesting pointers in this direction seeGombrich and Obeyesekere (1988) and Sharf (1995).

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Sen as charismatic Neo-Veddntic leader

Keshubchandra Sen played an important role in the elaboration ofNeo-Vedantic constructs: generally as ideological forerunner ofVivekananda and more specifically as creator of prototypical forms ofModern Yoga.28 Chronologically and ideologically positionedbetween Tagore's Neo-Vedantic Romanticism and Vivekananda'sNeo-Vedantic occultism, Sen progressed throughout his life from theformer towards the latter, despite having introduced "enthusiastic"Neo-Vaishnava devotionalism into the ritual life of the BrahmoSamaj. Indeed, such forms of devotionalism should be understood asattempts to compensate for the sense of disenchantment broughtabout by the rationalistic interpretations of religion which werebecoming common at the time: throughout Sen's most active years(1858 to 1884), the secular spirit started to penetrate Western culturein depth29 and, as usual, Bengal followed closely.

Born in Calcutta in 1838, Sen died at the relatively early age of 45on 8 January 1884. By all accounts he was endowed not only withgreat energy and a very dynamic character, but also with an ex-tremely charismatic personality. Kopf (1979: xvi), for example,credits him with having gathered some of the best men into Brah-moism from 1860 onwards. Debendranath Tagore stated that"Whatever [Sen] thought in his mind, he had the power to express inspeech. Whatever he said, he had the power to do. Whatever he did,he had the power of making other men do" (as quoted in Sen 1938:29). Both Tagore and Sen's closest collaborator ProtapchandraMozoomdar refer admiringly to his handsome physique and strikingpresence (Kopf 1979: 259; Sen 1938: 51). These impressions areconfirmed by two photographs showing a handsome, well-groomedman bearing a resolute and self-assured expression and havingobvious stage presence (see Figure 4 for one of them, for the other seeSen 1938: facing page 100). Just like Vivekananda, Sen was knownfor being a good actor (Kopf 1979: 254; Sen 1938: 18). All of these

28. Following my specific analytical bias, I will mainly endeavour to expose the generallylittle known cultic and esoteric aspects of Sen's life. For a somewhat hagiographicoverview of his life see the well-structured work by Sen (1938); for a similar account,but from a liberal Christian missionary point of view see Slater (1884); for a sympa-thetic scholarly appraisal see Kopf (1979, Chapter 9 and passim). A very syntheticoverview of Brahmo history, including Sen's ideological developments, may be found inibid. (pp. xxi-xxiii).

29. See Chadwick (1990: 18), who points out that the forty years between 1859 and theend of the century were crucial in this respect.

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characteristics, along with his rhetorical abilities and perfect com-mand of English, must have much enhanced his leadership qualitiesand charismatic potential.

Sen's charisma was also felt in the West: the Orientalist MaxMiiller describes the deep impression made by Sen on the Britishpublic during his 1870 visit to Britain:30 "I have been struck, whenlecturing in different places, to find that the mere mention of KeshubChunder Sen's name elicited applause for which I was hardly pre-pared" (reported in Sen 1938: 77). Sen toured and lectured exten-sively during this visit, and the accounts of his trip clearly show thathe was lionized by both liberal Christians and, in somewhat lessermeasure, by esoteric groups such as the Swedenborg Society (ibid.:83). His biographer reports that "invitations poured in to preachfrom Unitarian and Congregationalist pulpits" (ibid.) but, followingthe tradition established with Roy, Unitarians were the most sup-portive of, and interested in, the Brahmo leader (ibid.: 87). As soon asSen returned to India there was a new flurry of "lectures, pamphlets,propaganda, open letters to the authorities, newspaper agitation,resort to legislation" (ibid.: 101).

Sen was not only a born leader, but also an activist: starting in1854 at sixteen years of age and hardly stopping throughout his life,he "established] schools, classes, societies and fraternities" (ibid.:11). In youth, as in his more mature age, he "founded them, fosteredthem, unremittingly worked for them ... turning his associates intoardent fellow workers under his guidance" (ibid.: 11-12). From 1859or 1860 onwards he regularly gave highly exhortative (and later inlife emotional) extempore speeches and sermons (ibid.: 19, 28), andthese were published and circulated in a Bengal where, in Sen's ownwords, the number of "improvement societies, friendly meetings,debating clubs, literary associations, etc. ... [was] hourly increasing"(ibid.: 20). By 1865 his Brahmo "mission work proceeded apace,more educational institutions sprang up, and tracts and pamphletsmultiplied. There was no end of activity" (ibid.: 53). He seems indeedto have contributed enthusiastically to the "over-lapping commu-nications structures" of the nineteenth-century Bengali cultic milieu.

30. Sen sailed from India on 15 February 1870, reached London on 21 March 1870 andwas back in Calcutta on 20 October 1870 (Sen 1938: 74,104). Regarding Sen's visit toBritain see also Collett (1871).

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Figure 4 Keshubchandra Sen in 1859. From Sen, P.K. (1938) Keshub ChunderSen. Keshub's Birth Centenary Committee, Calcutta. (By permission of theSyndics of Cambridge University Library)

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Sen's religious career

Most of the religious associations established by Sen were highlycultic in nature, with a very loose structural organization effectivelycentering on Sen himself, always the undisputed leader. One of theearlier ones, the Sangat Sabha, was established in 1860 as a "circlefor intimate spiritual fellowship" (ibid.: 25). ProtapchandraMozoomdar, future Brahmo leader and one of the participants,describes how the group was composed of "steadfast followers ofKeshub", who

met frequently, and with fiery zeal of self-reformation, laid bare theirwhole hearts, freely and frankly discussing their own faults, courtedmutual aid and criticism, and under Keshub's guidance made mostgenuine progress in spiritual and moral life ... in them Keshub foundcongenial spirits; he magnetised them; they magnetised him; andtogether they formed a nucleus of organisation out of which the bestmaterials of Keshub's subsequent movements were supplied. (Quotedin ibid.: 25-6)

As for administrative procedures, Sen (ibid.: 25) states that "Therewere no fixed hours, no formalities observed, ... no restraints, noprogramme ... It was soul-force that brought them together ... anddetermined the proceedings of the Sabha."

Sen relied on this type of unstructured, voluntary, inward-lookingassociationism, typical of cults, throughout his life. When he secededfrom Tagore to form his own Brahmo Samaj of India in 1866, forexample, "there was no constitution, no governing body, no rules.Everything was left in Keshab's hands" (Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 46).This, however, meant that his groups were only held together by hischarisma, and that they would have fallen apart without him - asthey in fact did: Hay (1988: 46) reports that "Of Keshub's work littleremained after his death in 1884." Even more to the point, a con-temporary Brahmo (Naidu 1895: 20) commented: "The presentcondition of the Samaj is very deplorable. Since the death of Keshubdissensions among his followers and disunion among his missionariesprevail ... Each missionary does his own work in his own way."31

Throughout the middle part of his career, however, Sen tried to

31. Cf. also Slater (1884: 133) and Kopf (1979: 284-5) with regard to problems betweenMozoomdar and Keshubchandra Sen's family after Sen's death.

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provide Brahmoism with stronger doctrinal structures. He sought, forexample, to formulate a viable Brahmo theology by repeatedlyattempting (1859, 1867 and 1871) to establish a Brahmo theologicalschool.32 These ventures failed because the interested parties couldnot resolve "the conflict between individual religious experience andsystematic knowledge" (Kopf 1979: 79): obviously a problem rootedin the Samaj's strong cultic bias, or in what Kopf describes as "acertain prevailing resistance by Brahmos to the intellectualization oftheir faith and the crystallization of its main ideas into a commonlyheld theology" (ibid.: 82). This is confirmed by contemporary pri-mary sources: aspiring theologians were accused of expecting theSamaj to give up "justification of [sic] faith, right of private judge-ment, priesthood of every believer, and all other achievements of thereformation", and of leading it towards "dry intellectualism" and"scholasticism among a few".33 This strong anti-intellectualism andthe Christian ideological bias reflected in the choice of terminologywill remain prominent characteristics of esoteric and occultistic Neo-Vedanta.

In 1875, Sen met Ramakrishna (Sen 1938: 117), who was thusintroduced to Brahmo circles and, through them, to the world. Thetwo relished each other's company, and Ramakrishna's influence andexample surely played a part in leading Sen to adopt even moreradical "spiritualist" views and practices: by 1876 Sen "had retreatedalmost full circle to an antitheological position", and "was no longerinterested in active social reform but had turned instead to meditationand the comparative study of major religions" (Kopf 1979: 79, 139).In the meantime a substantial number of Sen's followers started toresent their leader's complete centralization of power, and his justi-fication of some of his actions by asserting that he was the recipient of"adesh or direct messages from God" (ibid.: 139). This led to a splitin the Samaj, the seceding group going on to establish the moremoderate and socially engaged Sadharan Brahmo Samaj in 1878.

So far we have highlighted the strong cultic and charismatic char-acteristics of Sen's movement. While these were definitely the moreprominent, we also find that some sectarian tendencies did emerge in

32. The first attempt was carried out by Debendranath Tagore and Keshubchandra Sentogether, the second and third by Sen only (Kopf 1979: 79).

33. Kopf (1979: 83) quoting K. S. Ghose, The Rise of Scholasticism in the Brahmo Samaj(Calcutta: Naba-bidhan Publications Committee, 1940).

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the association from the beginning of the 1870s, showing mostnotably in the establishment of lay religious communities. Thesetendencies never took over the movement completely, possibly alsodue to Sen's early demise, but they were significant in that theyprovided the human and institutional context in and through whichSen could elaborate his unique doctrinal and ritual innovations.

These lay religious communities started off by drawing inspirationfrom Protestant liberal and "spiritual" Christianity, but eventuallyemerged as truly acculturated Neo-Vedantic institutions. The twoprototypical communities founded by Sen show us this develop-mental pattern. The first one, called Bharat Ashram,34 was estab-lished in February 1872, lasted for five years and was stronglyinfluenced by the "Unitarian gospel of social reform" that Sen wasfollowing at the time. As Mozoomdar (quoted in Sen 1938: 113)points out, this first ashram was important because from it "beganthe steady development of the apostolic community which almost tothe last day of his life formed Keshub's great ambition".

The second community, more interesting with regard to our dis-cussion of Modern Yoga, was established in 1876 in the village ofMorepukur near Calcutta. Called Sadhan Kanan35 this institutionshowed substantial signs of acculturation, and may be regarded asprototypical of the Neo-Sannyasa36 ashrams that are currently foundall over India and wherever else Neo-Vedantic Hinduism has struckroot. Established shortly after Sen had turned his back on the idea of"social gospel", this institution placed "[vjery great stress ... onmeditation and retirement from the world" (Sastri 1911: 270). It is inthis context that Sen started to formulate more universalistic andeclectic forms of Neo-Vedantic religiosity including, as we shall seeshortly, prototypical forms of Modern Yoga.

34. "Indian hermitage". The Sanskrit term asrama is the traditional name used to describethe forest dwelling of sages and anchorites.

35. "Forest abode for religious practice" or, in more emic terms, "for spiritual culture".36. Meaning Neo-Vedantic renunciation. Neo-Sannydsa may be seen as the evolved and

institutionalized monastic form of Roy's grhastha brahmavddin, to which Tagorecontributed Neo-Vedantic initiation and Vivekananda Neo-Vedantic renunciation.Vivekananda himself will define what a Neo-Sannydsin is by telling his monks: "Youare not like ordinary worldly men - neither householders, nor exactly Sannyasins - butquite a new type" (CW 7: 222, emphasis added). For comments on the more secularversion of Roy's original concept see note 37, Chapter 1.

The semantic range of the term may overlap with what is called brahmacarya (theindividual being called a brahmacdrin) in Neo-Vedantic circles, meaning variousdegrees of lay renunciation. Cf. also Gombrich and Obeyesekere (1988: 205-6, 216-18) with regard to the corresponding modern Buddhist phenomenon, called andgarika.

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By 1880 Sen was approaching the culmination of his religiouscareer, and in the four years preceding his death his utterancesbecame increasingly emotional in tone, hyperbolic in style and"spiritualist" in content. He also started to elaborate peculiarly Neo-Vedantic forms of ritual and religious symbolism. This is strikinglyevident in a report of how he proclaimed his "New Dispensation"doctrine in January 1881:

[Sen] appeared on the platform, with twelve of his missionaries aroundhim, under a new red banner, on which were inscribed the words NabaBidhan (Nava Vidhana), that is, New Dispensation, and also anextraordinary symbol made up of the Hindu trident, the Christiancross and the crescent of Islam. On the table lay the Scriptures of thefour greatest religions of the world, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianityand Muhammadanism. Four of the apostles were specially appointedthat each might study the Scriptures of one of these religions. Hence-forward, the phrase Brahma Samaj falls into the background, andKeshab's body is known as The Church of the New Dispensation.(Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 56)

Turning more and more towards "enthusiastic" and syncreticforms of belief, Sen was soon affirming that his Nava Vidhan was theculmination of Judaism and Christianity. In 1882 he proclaimed that"[t]he Old Testament was the First Dispensation; the New Testamentthe Second; unto us in these days has been vouchsafed the ThirdDispensation", that is, his own church (quoted in ibid.: 63). As Lavan(1995: 17) summarizes, "what Keshub was doing was truly radicalwithin Hinduism - [providing] an apologetic and new dimension ofeclecticism for his faith".37

The influence of American Transcendentalism

Sen's "eclecticism" was mainly based on a universalistic and reli-gionist interpretation of the modern discipline of comparativereligion: a theoretical approach that he inherited from Tagore's Neo-Vedanta and which was reinforced by Transcendentalist influences.As for the apologetic contents of his thought, consisting of his directand indirect claims that Hinduism was the most advanced religion in

37. For a detailed analysis of the second half of Sen's life, including the emergence of his"New Dispensation", see Damen (1983).

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'spiritual' terms, this was based on his appropriation and powerfulapplication of the esoteric motif of India's spiritual superiority.

It is important here to acknowledge fully the influence of Trans-cendentalist ideas, as these were crucial in shaping Sen's thought andthat of many other Brahmos during the second part of the nineteenthcentury. A very direct influence was exerted by the Unitarian mis-sionary Charles Dall, who arrived in India in 1855 and became aclose friend of Sen, then only a youth. It was through Dall's effortsthat "thousands of copies of the complete works of Channing,Emerson and Parker were circulated among Brahmos" (Kopf 1979:16), and we know that as early as 1858 Sen was drawing from thewritings of Parker and Emerson to prepare his lectures (ibid.: 30).

American Transcendentalists greatly emphasized 'intuition' and'true reason' (as opposed to analytical understanding) as sources ofknowledge. They were also convinced that the new discipline ofcomparative religion would prove the concordance of all religioustraditions, and that such findings would lead humanity to a higherreligious synthesis. Of all non-Christian religions they admired Hin-duism most, and it will be remembered that one of them, Thoreau,was the first recorded Westerner to claim, in 1849, to be practisingyoga. Emerson's Romantic idealism and especially his concept of theOver-Soul, allowing for a diffused but personally accessible dimen-sion of the divine, were particularly influential. Emerson believed thatby cultivating self-reliance and self-development all human beingscould attune themselves to the Over-Soul, and thence draw inspira-tion, guidance and support. This 'inward turn' of Emersonian phi-losophy, placing a direct point of access to the metaphysical in eachindividual's psyche, lies at the root of Hanegraaff's third 'mirror' ofsecularization, concerning the psychologization of religion. Thistrend is also visible in Sen's thought, as he is the first to introduce thisimportant element in Neo-Vedanta.

Some of these innovative concepts were already part of Sen'sthought early on in his religious career, and can be found in the firstseries of lectures that he delivered when about twenty-two yearsold.38 Here we can already see his enthusiastic temper and charis-matic drive, his passion for modernity, his "spiritualist" inclinations(now turning psychological), and his vision of a new type of reli-

38. Twelve lectures were delivered and published in the form of monthly tracts ("Tracts forthe Times") starting June 1860 (Sen 1938: 19, 147).

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giosity that would combine all these elements into one. In the lectureentitled "Signs of the Times", he affirms:

Freedom and progress are the watch-words of the 19th century. It islikewise beginning to be felt that true faith does not consist in anintellectual assent to historical events, but in earnest and steady reli-ance upon the ever-living, ever-present Deity ... Many an earnest soulis strenuously protesting against the worship of the "dead letter" -antiquated symbols, and lifeless dogmas, and vindicating the livingrevelations of the spirit within ... A strong yearning after the livingand the spiritual is thus clearly manifest. Nor, again, does the con-troversial and jealous spirit of sectarian dogmatism fall in with thecatholic views of the age. History has portrayed in frightful colours themischievous effects of sectarianism, and has fully proved that opinioncannot serve as the bond of religious confraternity - that which islocal, contingent and specific cannot constitute the basis of a church.Such a church as stands upon what is above time and place - uponcatholic principles of Faith and Love, such a church as shall establishthe brotherhood of man, many are looking forward to with eagerexpectations. (Quoted in Sen 1938: 22-3)

Sen's decidedly anti-intellectual recommendations are offset in histhought by a reliance on "subjective revelation", which he opposes to"book revelation" and defines psychologically as "a state of mind, anactual fact of consciousness".39 He affirms: "We account revelationas the only way through which we come in contact with the savingtruths of the spiritual world" (ibid.: 23). Such revelation he also refersto as "intuition" and "inspiration" in his contemporary and laterwork.40 He further assigns a "primary" and a "secondary" meaningto the term "revelation":

... if revelation is taken in its primary and literal signification, viz.,knowledge communicated by God, it is possible only as a fact of mind,and cannot therefore be identified with books or other external objects... If on the other hand revelation is understood in the secondaryacceptation, viz., whatever teaches us precious doctrines, and elevates

39. Eleventh tract, on "Revelation" (Sen 1938: 23). We may also note that the eighth andthe ninth tracts are entitled "Testimonies to the Validity of Intuitions", nos I and II(ibid.: 147).

40. Slater (1884: 170) points out that Sen's doctrine of "intuition" is "similar to thatpropounded by [the Unitarians] Mr. Theodore Parker and Mr. F. W. Newman" (ibid.),and also compares it to Victor Cousin's doctrine of religious intuition (ibid.: 171).

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our moral and religious conceptions and feelings, far from beingconfined to the texts of any particular book as the exclusive sacredrepository of divine truth, it extends over all books that inculcate truth- nay it embraces the whole universe as a living revelation. Such is ourdoctrine of revelation. (Quoted in Sen 1938: 23-4)

The whole programmatic "spiritual" and esoteric agenda ofKeshubchandra Sen is already here in a nutshell. However, in thefollowing years Sen would amplify it, developing Tagore's themes ofevolutionary and "scientific" religiosity in their ethical and "spiri-tual" implications. He would also embellish his teachings with amixture of Hindu, Christian and comparative religion motifs and,with the help of his missionaries,41 enthusiastically propagate themthroughout the Indian subcontinent. This same message would beeagerly interiorized by Vivekananda, who, as we shall see, willdevelop it in his own specific ways. Through Vivekananda and hisRamakrishna movement, finally, the Neo-Vedantic message willspread widely both in India and in the West.

But Sen's most momentous, indeed paradigmatic shift must be seento be in the epistemological domain: from Tagore's 'selective' intui-tion of revelation based on Hindu canonical (if no longer infallible)texts Sen progresses to a Transcendentalism-inspired concept ofindividual experiential revelation defined psychologically as "a stateof mind". With this conceptual step the transfer of religious authorityfrom 'outer' sources (metaphysical, but socially upheld and validated)to 'inner' ones (individually induced and validated) is completed.42 Itwill be pre-eminently on the strength of this shift that Modern Yogawill be conceptualized as the experiential core of a universalistic"scientific religion" (Sen/Dutt) and as the empirical, "scientificallyworked out" method to access such an experience (Vivekananda CW1: 128).

Sen's proto Modern Yoga

Sen's re-elaboration of the esoteric motif of India's spiritual super-iority took place relatively late in his life: it consisted, most impor-tantly, of a revivalistic interpretation of yoga as best method and core

41. Sen first conceived the idea of a Brahmo missionary effort in 1861 (Kopf 1979: 258),and renewed his efforts in this sense after seceding from Tagore in 1866 (ibid.: 318-19).

42. This central development of Neo-Vedantic ideas is discussed from a linguistic andsemantic angle in Chapter 4.

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achievement of all religious striving. This change in religious idiommay be illustrated by comparing two further photographic portraitsof the Brahmo leader. In the earlier one Sen is shown in prayerfulattitude, with hands joined and eyes cast heavenward, in altogetherChristian iconic mode (Figure 5); in the latter, taken the year beforehis death, he is portrayed in the cross-legged attitude of the yogisitting among greenery on a tiger skin and with a renouncer's pot(kamandalu) beside him (Figure 6). Considering that he was a pro-gressive, highly Anglicized householder with no monastic affiliationwhatsoever, this style of portraiture must have been highly uncon-ventional indeed.

Sen's revivalistic interpretation of yoga had a more theoretical anda more practical side. With regard to the former, we saw above howSen made a distinction between "primary" and "secondary" types ofrevelation in the lectures he delivered as a young man. Eventually, in1869, Sen would systematize what he saw as different types of"revelation" into a threefold model of the ways in which "Godmanifests Himself to us". These were: "through external nature,through the inner spirit, and through moral greatness impersonatedin man" (Sen 1901: 143), or through nature, "inspiration"43 andhistory. As will be noted, manifestation through "nature" and "his-tory" allows Sen to integrate modern knowledge44 into his beliefsystem. "Inspiration" through the inner spirit, however (or primary"revelation" or "intuition"), is repeatedly stated to be the mostpowerful, complete and valid type of religious experience, the othertwo being classified as secondary:

Nothing ... can bear comparison with the almighty power ofInspiration - the direct breathing of God's spirit - which infuses analtogether new life into the soul and exalts it above all that is earthlyand impure. It is the more powerful, being God's direct and immediateaction on the human soul, while the revelation through physical natureand biography [i.e. history] is indirect and mediate ... The highestrevelation ... is inspiration, where the spirit communes with the spiritface to face without any mediation whatsoever. (Sen 1901: 89-90)

If up to this relatively early lecture (1866) Sen was still elaborating

43. Or "communion with God in the soul" (Sen 1885: 4).44. More specifically an idealist view of history (along the lines of Hegel and Schlegel,

where history is seen as an expression of the divine) and a mixture of Romantic andpositivist views of science.

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Figure 5 Keshubchandra Sen at prayer. From Sen, P.K. (1938) Keshub ChunderSen. Keshub's Birth Centenary Committee, Calcutta. (By permission of theSyndics of Cambridge University Library)

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what was his own variation of Transcendentalist philosophy, by 1875the more peculiarly Neo-Vedantic slant that his theories were takingwas becoming apparent:

The subtle Hindu mind has always been distinguished for its spiri-tuality. It penetrates the hard surface of dogmatic theology, andevolves and deals with the deeper realities of faith. It loves communionwith the Spirit, and abhors matter as an unreality ... The idea ofperceiving the Indwelling Spirit, far from being foreign, is eminentlynative to the primitive Hindu mind. (Sen 1901: 207)

We see that Sen starts to build his Neo-Vedantic apologetics on themore esoteric layers of Transcendentalism by representing "theHindu mind" as pre-eminently spiritual and as peculiarly gifted in itsability to access "revelation".

The following year, 1876, Sen was to translate such theories intopractice. This was also the year in which the Sadhan Kanan wasestablished. Sivanath Sastri provides us with an interesting sketch oflife at the Kanan:

Here many of the missionaries of the Samaj spent with him [Sen] mostof the days of the week in meditation and prayer, in cooking their ownfood, in drawing water, in cutting bamboos, in making and pavingroads, in constructing their cabins, in planting and watering trees, andin cleansing their bedrooms. As marks of their asceticism they began tosit below trees on carpets made of the hides of tigers and of otheranimals, in imitation of Hindu mendicants and spend long hours inmeditation. (Sastri 1911: 270)

This, as previously mentioned, sounds remarkably like contemporaryNeo-Vedantic ashrams, with much constructive 'karmayoga'45 beingcarried out, and regular times set out for devotional and spiritualpractice. Such a set-up would, however, have been highly innovativeat the time. Sastri's evident perplexity about Sen and his associatesspending time "meditating in imitation of Hindu mendicants" musthave been shared by many of his contemporaries. Sastri continues:

It was towards the end of this year that Mr. Sen introduced a fourfoldclassification of devotees. He chose from amongst his missionaries four

45. I.e., ideally, 'work carried out carefully, selflessly and joyfully for the sake of thecommunity' in contemporary Neo-Vedantic diction.

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different sets of men to represent four types of religious life. The Yog/,or the adept in rapt communion, the Bhakta, or the adept in rapturouslove of God, the Jnani, or the earnest seeker of true knowledge and theShebak, or the active servant of humanity. These four orders wereconstituted and four different kinds of lessons were given to the dis-ciples of the respective classes, (ibid.: 270-1 )46

We already heard with regard to the elaboration of Dutt's Brahmoethic that "All true worshippers of God [should] practice [sic] med-itation, devotion, acquire knowledge and do good to others" (seesection on "Scientific religion" earlier in this chapter). Now Sen tookup this lead to provide his community with a system of practicecatering for all "four types of religious life". Dutt and Sen, in otherwords, were striving to define new schemes of religious and ritual life,schemes that would suit the secularized mentality of the last quarterof the nineteenth century. As in the case of Vivekananda's sannydsins,it was a matter of finding "a new type" (see note 36 above). In Sen'sfourfold system of practice we find the prototypical form of what willlater become a core teaching of Modern Yoga, i.e. Vivekananda'smodel of the '4 yogas' (Raja-, Bhakti-, Jnana- and Karma-yoga).

It is also at the Sadhan Kanan that we find the young NarendranathDatta, the future Swami Vivekananda, enthusiastically partaking ofthe Brahmo religious life. Much evidence suggests that by the time heturned twenty-one he had already assimilated not only the full rangeof Brahmo teachings, including Sen's own, but also the latter'sflamboyant style. We further know that the future Vivekanandaremained in Sen's entourage up to the time of the latter's death (seenext chapter), and that he seriously entertained the idea of becoming

46. As this is a central point, and little known, Slater's version of the fourfold division willalso be given:

In 1876, this movement took a new and more definite form in the 'Classification ofDevotees' ... This classification is fourfold, and comprises yoga, or intense con-templative communion with the Divine Spirit; bhakti, or love of God; gyan, orstudy, research, and thought; and seba or karma,, the service of fellow men. The yogi(one who cultivates yoga) lives in the spirit world, and aims at the subjugation of hisnature. The bhakta loses himself in intense love for God. The sebak delights inactive deeds of benevolence. Special initiative services are held for those who wishto enter the several departments. Into the fourth class we find Brahmic ladies havebeen initiated. (1884: 78; Slater quotes as his sources the Theistic Annual for 1877and the Indian Mirror, 27 February 1876)

The above report is especially interesting as it highlights the modern usage of seva andkarma as synonyms. This semantic shift happened most likely through Christianinfluences with the Victorian concept of 'good works' acting as the conceptual linkbetween karma and seva.

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Figure 6 Keshubchandra Sen at Simla, 1883. From Sen, P.K. (1938) KeshubChunder Sen. Keshub's Birth Centenary Committee, Calcutta. (By permission ofthe Syndics of Cambridge University Library)

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one of Sen's missionaries.47 Despite his later repudiation ofBrahmoism,48 ideologically speaking Vivekananda's Ramakrishnamovement should be seen as a most successful continuation (andimplementation) of Brahmo ideology drawing from both NavaVidhan and Sadharan branches of the Samaj. All these developments,crucial to the future development of Neo-Vedantic Hinduism (and ofModern Yoga), will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter.

As for Sen, his apologetic and revivalistic formulation of yoga greweven stronger in the period before his death. By 1881, whilepreaching the creed of his New Dispensation, we find that Sencharacterizes "Hindus" not so much as having developed an out-standing tradition of adeptness in yoga practice, but as actuallypossessing an almost genetically in-built "yoga faculty":

We Hindus are specially endowed with, and distinguished for, the yogafaculty, which is nothing but this power of spiritual communion andabsorption. This faculty, which we have inherited from our fore-fathers, enables us to annihilate space and time... (Sen 1901: 484)

It was the cultivation of this "yoga faculty" that concerned him moreand more towards the end of his life, and when he passed away he leftunfinished a text on the subject (Sen 1885).

This concern tallied with his long-held theory of 'divine humanity',a well-known Swedenborgian theme that would surely have beenrepresented among the many intellectual currents found in theCalcutta cultic milieu. Thus as early as 1866 he was applying theChristian concept of the incarnation to the whole of humanity: "Trueincarnation is not ... the absolute perfection of the divine natureembodied in mortal form ... It simply means God manifest inhumanity; - not God made man, but God in man ..." (Sen 1901: 61)."For it must be admitted," he further reasoned, "that every man is, insome measure, an incarnation of the divine spirit ... If, then, incar-nation means the spirit of God manifest in human flesh, certainlyevery man is an incarnation" (ibid.: 62-3). Towards the end of hislife, Sen had come to see the "yoga faculty" as the means to accesssuch 'divinity' and to make it operative in the world.

By this stage proto Modern Yoga and the "spiritual power" of the

47. See introductory quotation to next chapter.48. Cf., for example, CW 6: 263; CW 8: 477-8; CW 9: 22.

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"Hindu mind" had become powerful apologetic themes in a world ofdivided ideologies and contrasting allegiances. As such, they were tobecome one of the most effective rhetorical weapons of Neo-Vedanticesotericism. This is what they continue to be up to the present day,though each interpreter puts them to a different use depending oninclination and circumstance. One of the most famous of theseinterpreters, and indeed the creator of fully-fledged Modern Yoga,was the Swami Vivekananda. It is to him that we now turn.

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3. Vivekananda and theemergence of Neo-Vedanticoccultism

But for Ramakrishna I would have been a Brahmo missionary.(Swami Vivekananda)

The previous chapter has highlighted some of the ways in which Neo-Vedanta developed throughout the first three quarters of the nine-teenth century. By 1875 this modernized tradition was being repre-sented by apologists both East and West as an exemplary form ofspirituality. An ideology of self-perfecting voluntarism and ethicalactivism sustained the Brahmo ethic, while more secular discoursesgravitated towards definitions of religion as "scientific" and pro-gressive, towards utilitarianism and towards the individualizationand psychologization of spiritual experience. It is at this time thatNarendranath Datta, the future Swami Vivekananda, comes on thescene (Figures 7, 8 and 9). Born on 12 January 1863 in Calcutta(Jackson 1994: 22), the Swami achieved fame in the West, and analmost mythical status in India, where he is still respected and reveredby many as, among other things, the harbinger of a modern anddynamic form of missionary Hinduism to the West.

1. As reported by Vivekananda's brother (quoted in Williams (1974: 15 and 1995b: 378)).

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Vivekananda: spiritual hero or esoteric seeker?

Swami Vivekananda did indeed play a pivotal role in the context ofNeo-Vedantic esotericism and of Modern Yoga. Not quite a Neo-Hindu philosopher, not quite a militant nationalist, he neverthelessbecame a cult figure and a popular ideologue in both fields. Most ofall, however, he was the first Indian to succeed in acting as aneffectual bridge-builder between Eastern and Western esoteric mili-eus, much as Unitarians and Theosophists had done the other wayaround. In a way, he was the proud nationalistic and indigenouscounterpart of these groups. This explains why he has been adoptedby popular mythology as the archetypal nationalistic religious hero,whereas an important body like the Brahmo Samaj was neverincluded in the religio-nationalistic pantheon, despite the fact that itwas politically and institutionally far more influential.2

A substantial amount of literature has been produced over time onVivekananda and his work. The overwhelming majority of thesestudies is hagiographic in tone, while a fraction of them, based onmore stringent critical and historical methods, concur on showing theSwami as a much more tormented and paradoxical individual.3 Thesedifferent readings are well exemplified by two schematic overviews ofVivekananda's life provided by Williams (1995b: 373) and repro-duced below. They will allow the reader to operate an instant com-parison.

2. See Kopf (1979) concerning the last affirmation.3. Narasingha P. Sil (1997: 23-5) discusses these sources, and makes a clear case for the

need and importance of further studies along these lines (ibid.: 11-13). Rambachan(1994), while not a biographical study, should be consulted by anyone interested in anin-depth discussion of Vivekananda's ideas and of their influence within the context ofmodern and contemporary forms of Hinduism.

Sil's careful (if cutting) discussion (1997) has two great advantages: firstly, its authorcompares and contrasts specific aspects of classical and modern Hinduism so as tohighlight which is which (as does Rambachan; this is an obvious but often neglectedprocedure). Secondly, Sil makes extensive use of essential (and sometimes recent) Bengalisources without which it would be nearly impossible to compose a realistic picture of thesubject. As Sil himself states (ibid.: 12): "It is absolutely essential that Vivekananda'sachievements be assessed after a careful perusal of all extant sources, especially those inBengali ... [A]ny uncritical reliance on the existing translations is bound to be pre-carious, because most often those authorized by the Ramakrishna Order have beendoctored or censored." For further sources see below and notes 38 and 40, Chapter 1.

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(1) Archetype of the spiritual hero (2) Historical periods of doubtand faith

I. Wondrous Child: I. Childhood: 1863-78- visions- meditations

II. Exceptional College Student:- master of Western thought- independent thinker

III. Carefully trained bySri Ramakrishna

IV. Warrior Monk:- conquers West- awakens India

II. College: 1879-86- Brahmo Samaj- Freemason- Sceptic

III. Ramakrishna's disciple:1886-89

IV. Renewed search: 1889-90V. Break with Ramakrishna

gurubhais: 1890- re-establishing contact

from America: 1894- return and founding of

Order: 1897-1902

Variations will be found across different authors as to the detail ofthe above two schemes, but a comparison of the general tone is whatis meant here. The biographic material composed along the lines ofthe first scheme is well known, readily available, and need not bediscussed here.4 But some of the 'alternative' findings of the typeexemplified by Williams in scheme (2) above are very suggestive inthe context of the present study, and will be discussed below. Ourmain sources for this discussion will be Jackson (1994), Sil (1997)and Williams (1974; 1995b).

Vivekananda's esoteric biography I: India

Childhood

There is very little historical evidence for this period of the Swami's life.Datta's father, who was a lawyer (Sil 1997: 38), is described as having

4. A concise version of what could be described as a common knowledge appraisal ofVivekananda may be found in Hay (1988: 72). Most standard emic works on Viveka-nanda will be found in Sil's bibliography (1997: 236-45), including Bengali and Englishprimary sources, and in Williams (1995: 396-7, notes 3 and 4). His Eastern and WesternDisciples (2000 [1912]) and Holland (1966 [1930]) may be quoted as representative.

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"rational, progressive ideas" (Williams 1995b: 375). As we shall seelater, he encouraged his son to join a masonic lodge: he cannot thereforehave been much of a Hindu traditionalist. His general views seem alsoto have contrasted with his wife's "deep and traditional piety" (ibid.).Such lack of coherence in the religious and ideological make-up of theparental home might have given a deep psychological root to Datta'slater religio-philosophical ambivalence and consequent seeking.

Schooling

In scheme (2) above, Williams refers to a period of scepticism in theyoung Datta's life.5 Williams may be right in tracing the genesis ofVivekananda's scepticism to his school years. However, this is a traitthat will remain with the Swami for the rest of his life, as shown byhis writing and pronouncements. Obvious as it is, this aspect of theSwami's psychology has not been sufficiently stressed. Such 'scepti-cism', however, should be understood more as an emotional state ormood than as an intellectual, let alone philosophical, conviction.These are important facets of Vivekananda's personality, whichundoubtedly contributed to make him an 'esoteric seeker' rather thana 'spiritual hero'.

His educational curriculum may go some way towards explainingthese tendencies. The available evidence indicates that for substantialperiods of time he attended the institutions established by two well-known educators: the Bengali intellectual Ishwarchandra Vidyasagarand the Scottish missionary Alexander Duff.6 Both men embodiedpowerful intellectual positions attempting to synthezise tradition andmodernity, both were convinced rationalists, but most of all bothfostered a secularist spirit in their charges.7

In addition to this we know that as a student the young Datta waskeenly interested in Western philosophy. This led him to explore,

5. See also Brajendranath Seal, a classmate of the future Swami, who "recalled the latter'sbitter intellectual cynicism, his restlessness, and sardonic wit" (Kopf 1979: 204).

6. See Lipner (1998: 64-5). Williams (1974: 18) further points out that Vivekanandapassed his First Arts Examinations ("a sort of half-way house to the undergraduatedegree" according to Lipner (1998: 65)) at the Scottish Church College in 1881.

7. Kopf (1979: 47) describes Vidyasagar as "an ardent rationalist" who "was known to bea dedicated humanist and a professed atheist". He was also one of the main exponents of"indigenous secularism as against the Westernized variety". As for Duff, he was "one ofthe most intellectually gifted missionaries to serve in India" (ibid.: 159) and, "bystressing science and reason at his school and at his Scottish Church College, heunwittingly produced secularists" (ibid.: 45-6).

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Figure 7 Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago Parliament of Religions,September 1893.

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even though reportedly not in great depth,8 the works of Hume,Kant, Fichte, Spinoza, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Comte, Spencer, J. S.Mill and Darwin (Sil 1997: 30). These intellectual influences left adeep mark in the future Vivekananda's mental make-up. We see thisclearly in his recurrent attempts to use Western intellectual paradigmsin his speeches.9 From the specific point of view of the present study,however, the most important result of his education was that itprovided him with a vocabulary and with conceptual frameworksthat would allow him to communicate with (and impress) English-speaking audiences in the West.

In short, the young Datta seems to have been more of a charismatic"dreamer and visionary" (Sil 1997: 175) than a systematic thinker.Maybe Romantic influences, Neo-Vedantic or otherwise, have notbeen sufficiently explored in the context of critical scholarship on theSwami. While subject to bouts of 'scepticism', he seems to have beenvery receptive to the idealistic emotionality of Romantic poets. Hiscolleague Seal, for example, commented how, after prescribing "acourse of readings in Shelley" to Datta, the latter found that theBritish poet's "Hymn to the spirit of a glorified millennial humanitymoved him as the arguments of the philosophers had failed to movehim". The budding Neo-Advaitin was especially impressed byShelley's belief that the universe "contained a spiritual principle ofunity" (Williams 1974: 19).

Later in life Vivekananda would also speak highly, especially whenaddressing Western audiences, about Edwin Arnold's The Light ofAsia (1879),10 the amazingly successful poem11 that emerged fromthe Romantic milieu of American Transcendentalism. This workbecame an instant bestseller, and as such it can be said to havepopularized a Romantic image of 'the Buddha' as prototypical'Oriental sage'. The Swami was well aware of the effect that Arnold's

8. His fellow student Brajendranath Seal remarked that Datta "did not appear ... to havesufficient patience for humdrum reading - his faculty was to imbibe not so much frombooks as from living communion and personal experience. With him it was life kindlinglife and thought kindling thought" (quoted in Williams 1974: 19). Sil (1997: 30)concludes his survey of evidence by stating that "In spite of being an intelligent indi-vidual, Naren was neither a brilliant student nor an accomplished scholar."

9. Rambachan (1994: 30, 87-90, 107-8, 128-31) discusses specific instances of this.10. Cf. references to the poem or to Arnold himself in CW 1: 86, 407; CW 2: 61,155; CW

3: 511; CW 4: 319; CW 6: 97; CW 7: 287, 429; CW 8: 97.11. It went through at least a hundred editions in England and America and was translated

into numerous languages including, according to the 1884 Trubner's Record, Bengaliand Sanskrit (Almond 1988: 1).

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3. VIVEKANANDA AND THE EMERGENCE OF NEO-VEDANTIC OCCULTISM

poem had on Western audiences: "Have you not seen even a mostbigoted Christian, when he reads Edwin Arnold's Light of Asia, standin reverence of Buddha, who preached no God, preached nothing butself-sacrifice?" (CW 1: 86). Thus Arnold's Romantic creation maywell have functioned as a sort of role model for the young Bengaliseeking to find his identity.

In his quest for the less-publicized facets of the Swami's person-ality, Sil (1997: 161) also highlights the youthful Datta's keenadmiration for, and even enthusiastic impersonation of, the Frenchleader Napoleon. Sil does not make this connection, but if wesuperimpose Arnold's Buddha onto the more martial and energeticfigure of Napoleon we actually come very close to the Vivekanandacherished by popular imagination. Two of the Swami's most famousportraits, taken during the 1893 Parliament of Religions, have adefinite 'Napoleonic hero' look about them (see Figure 7 for one ofthem).12 Other photographs, showing him cross-legged or just seatedupright, draped in flowing robes, gaze turned inward under closedeyelids, the hint of a smile on his lips, attempt to repropose thetimeless icon of the meditating Buddha (Figure 8). Another portrait,taken soon after Vivekananda's return to India (February 1897;Figure 9) is also interesting for its similarity with Sen's 'y°gic' portraitdiscussed in the previous chapter (Figure 6): the composition isalmost identical, down to the surrounding foliage and the kamandalu(renouncer's pot).13 With regard to the production of these icons wewill remember that Keshubchandra Sen who, like Vivekananda, hada well-developed sense of the theatrical, had in his own days alreadyexperimented with the photographic medium in similar ways.

Brahmo

The point that Vivekananda repudiated his Brahmo past later in lifebut was nevertheless deeply influenced by it has already been made.Testimonials of people from his entourage confirm that he was

12. The other portrait similarly shows him with arms crossed in front of his chest, a self-assured and somewhat daring expression on his face, but this time as a full figure (for areproduction see Chetananda 1995: 59). For an extensive and informative record ofVivekananda and Vivekananda-related photographs see ibid.

13. However, Sen's ektdr ("one-stringed" lute) is likely to have been chosen to signify hispenchant for ecstatic devotionalism, after the manner of Bengal Vaisnavism, whereasVivekananda's book clearly proposes him as more of a jndnl. Sen is portrayed with anektdr also in several other photographs (see, for example, Kopf 1979: 256 and Sen1938: between pages 184-5).

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Figure 8 Swami Vivekananda in London, December 1896

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thoroughly involved in Brahmo life and activities over the formativeyears around his twenties. Williams (1974: 11) reports thatNarendranath Datta's name was on the original roll of the SadharanBrahmo Samaj. Vivekananda's own brother, on the other hand, statesthat from 1881 to 1884, the year of Sen's death, the futureVivekananda was active in Sen's "Band of Hope", which sought "towean away the young men from the path of smoking, drinking, etc."(quoted in Williams 1995b: 378). Vivekananda's biographerIsherwood further states that the Swami joined the Nava Vidhan in1880 (Kopf 1979: 205, note 47), and according to Mallik, an oldercontemporary (quoted in Banerji 1931: 344), Vivekananda was moreattracted by the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj at first, and later by Sen'sNava Vidhan.

In view of the cultic fluidity of late nineteenth-century Calcutta(described in the previous chapter), it should not come as a surprisethat the young Datta was active in both Brahmo denominations. AsLipner points out,

the social and, in important respects, the intellectual boundariesbetween the different Samajes were fluid ... those interested couldmove freely and exploratively between the Samajes...

... in the cultural hothouse that Calcutta was at the time, there was agreat deal of overlap and criss-crossing socially, religiously and/orintellectually among the [Brahmo] circles. (1998: 65-6)

Under such circumstances there would have been no need, especiallyfor younger members, to be totally committed to one or the other ofthe camps. But apart from this, the young Datta's involvement withthe Brahmos, and the active role that he took in some of Sen's pro-jects, are beyond doubt.14 Of special interest to us is that the futureSwami, accompanied by a friend, would often join "picnics andmusical festivals in a suburban garden called the 'Hermitage'. Herethey would have musical fiestas and animated discussions on ...things, religious and social, political and philosophical" (quoted inLipner 1998: 65). This 'Hermitage' could only have been Sen's Sad-han Kanan, and here the young Datta would have been powerfully

14. "K. K. Mitra, who also knew Vivekananda in the early 1880s, has stated that the latterengaged in Brahmo activities, attended Brahmo meetings, lived among Brahmo stu-dents, and loved to sing Brahmo songs" (Kopf 1979: 205, note 48).

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exposed not only to this leader's example and teachings, but to hisliving oeuvre as manifested in his Neo-Vedantic ashram.

Freemason

Before we examine the relationship between Ramakrishna andNarendranath Datta, a few remarks should be made about the latter'smembership of the Calcutta Freemasons' Lodge. The young Dattajoined the lodge at some point before 1884 (Williams 1974: 15). Hisfather encouraged him to join, as both Vivekananda and his brotherwere to explain later, so that he would get to know influential peoplewho may later help him in his career (ibid.}. Datta's father, who, aswe saw, had rationalist and progressive tendencies, was obviously notconcerned by the religious and ethical implications of such a move. Inany case, the young Datta's involvement in Freemasonry, howeversuperficial, must have given him an early insight into the structure,contents and social network potentialities of esoteric associationism.The freemasonic ideals of "equality, social reform, philanthropy anda 'common denominator' approach to religious unity" (ibid.: 15;1995b: 379) would have further reinforced the highly compatibleBrahmo beliefs he held.

Ramakrishna and Vivekananda

Ramakrishna may well have died unnoticed and unremembered, ashave so many other Indian holy men before and after him, had he notentered into Sen's orbit. After Sen's death (1884) he became the focalpoint of attention for many young Brahmos who suddenly foundthemselves deprived of their charismatic leader. Within two decadesof his own death (1886), he had been adopted as the spiritual head ofVivekananda's Ramakrishna movement. While Ramakrishna'sHinduism was virtually untouched by modern influences, he waseventually proclaimed worldwide as a master of Neo-Vedantic "God-realization". This was moreover done in the context of discoursescharged with Christian overtones: his translated sayings are known asThe Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna (Gupta 1978 [1907]; 1984 [1942])for which a Concordance has been compiled (Whitmarsh 1989);the members of his inner circle of followers were his apostles-,Vivekananda was presented as a novel St Paul (see details of hisinitiation below) and his letters are classified as epistles in his

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Collected Works, and so on. A reactive assimilation strategy isobviously at work here.

Commonplace accounts describe the relationship betweenRamakrishna and Vivekananda as idyllic and reciprocally affec-tionate. Critical scholarship, however, once again brings up moreambiguous (and realistic) vistas: the Calcutta cultic milieu wascharged with social, religious and psychological tensions, especiallyin the latter part of the nineteenth century. This dense atmospherereflects on our story. Neither the young Datta nor his master werestraightforward characters. While Ramakrishna was obviouslya natural mystic endowed with an engaging and lively personality,15

his spiritual struggles have nothing of the straightforward one-pointedness of the younger and equally famous modern South Indiansaint Ramana Maharshi.16 Vivekananda also emerges from recentscholarship (see note 3 above) as a forceful but rather paradoxicalcharacter. That the relationship between the two Bengalis was some-what fraught and occasionally strained therefore comes as no surprise.

Williams (1974: 17) reports that to start with Datta was under theimpression "that Ramakrsna was an 'idolator' and that he and hisdevotees were intellectual inferiors". At first he also thought that theBengali holy man was "a brain-sick baby, always seeing visions andthe rest" (CW 8: 263). Such harsh judgements are maybe not sosurprising if we think that they came from a twenty-year-old edu-cated and Anglicized Brahmo of impulsive character.

According to Williams (1995b: 380-4), the relationship betweenthe two Bengalis developed as follows: Ramakrishna and the futureVivekananda met in December 1881, after which Datta more or lessshunned the older man, despite the latter's proclamations of affec-tion. In 1884 the young Datta faced a series of bereavements: hisfather and Keshubchandra Sen both died within less than two monthsof each other.17 This must have had deep personal and emotionalrepercussions because both men had been central to the futureSwami's life: the first one as life guide and natural source of authorityand support, the second as role model (however unacknowledged).What is more, these events resulted in the total collapse of his social

15. The mixture of charm, wit, sensitivity, spirituality and common sense that were all partof the man are evident from a reading of The Gospel ofShri Ramakrishna (Gupta 1978[1907], 1984 [1942]), even in its English translations.

16. See Kripal (1995), Sil (1993, 1997). Regarding Ramana Maharshi see Osborne (1994).17. 25 February (Sil 1997: 41) and 8 January (Williams 1995b: 382) respectively.

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Figure 9 Swami Vivekananda in Madras, February 1897

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and family networks: his father's passing away left the familyfinancially ruined and bitterly divided, giving rise to a prolongedperiod of financial crisis and emotional turmoil.18 We also saw howSen's Samaj was left in shambles after the leader's demise, and thiswas the young Datta's main social circle. He does not seem to havecoped well with these unexpected pressures and responsibilities:

Sudden confrontation with the harsh realities of life was quite upset-ting, almost traumatic, for the inexperienced and easygoingNarendranath. In spite of his reputation at college for his eloquence,erudition, and leadership qualities and the fact that his lawyer fatherhad connections in influential circles, Naren never did manage toprocure a suitable employment except for a short stint as a schoolteacher.19 We have a graphic account of his predicament: "I had tolook for a job even before the period of mourning was over. I wentfrom office to office barefoot and hungry, carrying an application for ajob ... But I was unsuccessful everywhere." Unable to cope with abjectpoverty, the shocked college graduate ... became a regular visitor toDakshineshwar. (Sil 1997: 38)

As standard narrations indicate, Ramakrishna was all too happy tooffer counsel, reassurance and comfort to the younger man. Spec-ulating on the basis of available evidence and of existing scholarship,Sil (ibid.: 40) concludes:

It is most certainly a fact that [Ramakrishna] provided a deep psy-chological support to the flamboyant but flabbergasted young manfacing a crisis of career and family responsibility. Indeed as Dr. Kakarhas written, Narendra was under intense mental strain, highly vul-nerable and suggestible when he came close to the Master, and the"mighty mentor" stepped into the void of his would-be disciple's lifewhich had been rendered utterly chaotic after his father's death. Thusthere might have developed a "quasi-therapeutic relationship"between Ramakrishna and Narendranath.

Rather than this quasi-therapeutic relationship, hagiographic nar-rations of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda relationship representRamakrishna carefully grooming the young Datta according to the

18. See Williams (1974: 61 and 1995b: 380).19. He lost his job "apparently upon complaints from the upper-class boys that he did not

know how to teach properly" (Sil 1997: 44). Eventually he also gave up his law studies(ibid.).

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established method of personally passing on one's spiritual legacythrough initiation within a guru-sisya parampard (traditional"teacher-pupil transmission"). But even here historical evidence, aswe shall soon see, does not tally with these accounts. After examininga wider range of sources, one is led to ask questions concerning theways in which Vivekananda came to appropriate and interpretRamakrishna's spiritual legacy.

Ramakrishna's spiritual transmission

Ramakrishna and Vivekananda were not to spend much time to-gether after their rapprochement as the older man passed away on 16August 1886. At this point the question of spiritual transmissionbecomes crucial, especially with regard to the validation ofVivekananda's subsequent work and influence. What concerns ushere is not to pass judgement on the religiosity of a specific individual,but to evaluate the strengths and qualifications of a spiritual teacher,as this is how the Swami later presented himself and how theRamakrishna movement has presented him ever since. Here thequestion of initiation becomes important.

There is a distinct lack of clarity in the evidence relating to thespiritual legacy passed by Ramakrishna to the young Datta and hisBrahmo cohort. We shall now discuss the available evidence,20 butbefore we do so it is important to clarify the following with regard toavailable textual sources in this context: Gupta (1978 [1907]) is atext based on Gupta's original 8n Rdmakrsna Kathdmrta ("Nectar ofthe Story of Ramakrishna"). Written in Bengali, the latter is widelyreputed to be the most reliable and comprehensive record ofRamakrishna's life and sayings.21 Gupta (1978 [1907]) was com-posed and translated by Gupta himself, and as such may be regardedas the most reliable source in English.22 Gupta (1984 [1942]), on theother hand, while based on the original Kathdmrta, is by now known,at least among scholars, to have been substantially shaped by itstranslator, Swami Nikhilananda. As such, it should be taken as the

20. Though regrettably we have no access to the Bengali sources.21. This text was published in five volumes (1902, 1905, 1907, 1910 and 1932), and the

author's name used for these publications was 'M', for Mahendranath Gupta (Gupta1978 [1907]: xi).

22. Information on the history of this text and on the Bengali Kathamrta is given in the"Introduction to the 1978 edition of the Condensed Gospel" found in the 1978 andsubsequent editions.

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Ramakrishna movement's 'official' version of events rather than as astraightforward translation of the original.23

So what is the evidence we do have about Ramakrishna's spiritualtransmission? Williams (1974: 36) reports that all the Master did wasto ask Datta to "take care of the boys" (i.e. the other young devo-tees), but quotes no source for this affirmation. Nikhilananda (1984[1942]: 70) provides a more literary version of Ramakrishna's words:"I leave these young men in your charge. See that they develop theirspirituality and do not return home", but again one finds no trace of acorresponding passage in the main body of Gupta's (1984 [1942])text. Ramakrishna's affection for and attachment to "the boys" doesshine through in Gupta's accounts of the Master's life (1978 [1907];1984 [1942]), but the reasons why they should have remained to-gether, in what form or for what purpose are never entered upon.One fact is certain, however: Ramakrishna never formally initiatedthe future Vivekananda and the other young devotees.24 This is astark fact that both Vivekananda and the early Ramakrishna move-ment have been at pains to underplay and to counterbalance withinformal or 'mystical' types of initiation.25

The most polished example of 'official' narrative concerning howthe Ramakrishna order was established, perhaps unsurprisingly, isthe one written by Nikhilananda (1984 [1942]: 70). Typically, itconsists more of interpretative emphases than of facts, and there is nostraight reference to matters of spiritual transmission in Ramakrish-na's own teachings. Nikhilananda narrates that Ramakrishna spent aweek at a disciple's house in Calcutta after having been diagnosedwith cancer: "During this week he dedicated himself practicallywithout respite to the instruction of those beloved devotees who hadbeen unable to visit him oftener at Dakshineswar. Discourses inces-santly flowed from his tongue, and he often went into samadhi"(ibid.: 67). Whoever reads the relevant section of Gupta's reports

23. Nikhilananda's Introduction to this book (Nikhilananda 1984 [1942]) is, however,listed separately in the bibliography as it is an explicitly autonomous source.

24. He did, however, initiate into sannyasa, according to Swami Nikhilananda (1984[1942]: 33), the "great pundit" Narayan Shastri and maybe also Gauri, anotherscholar.

25. See, for example, Datta telling Gupta, after Ramakrishna's passing away, that while atCossipore the Master had "transmitted his power to [him]" (Gupta 1984 [1942]: 985);or Vivekananda's later (1901) and more spectacular report of a similar transmission(reported by one of his disciples in CW 7: 206-7). This latter narration was thenincorporated by Nikhilananda (1984 [1942]: 72) in his 'official' version of events.

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(1978 [1907]; 1984 [1942]), however, is likely to be disappointed:Ramakrishna's discourses and his ecstasies are in no way different tothe ones found in all other parts of the book.

Nikhilananda's story proceeds: after this week the Master wasmoved to Syampukur (in the northern section of Calcutta), and it is atthis point that

[t]hese young men, under the watchful eye of the Master and theleadership of Narendra, became the antaranga bhaktas, the devotees ofSri Ramakrishna's inner circle. They were privileged to witness manymanifestations of the Master's divine powers. Narendra receivedinstructions regarding the propagation of his message after his death.(Nikhilananda 1984 [1942]: 67)

But here again no traces, not even oblique references to thesemomentous events, can be found in Ramakrishna's words.26

Nikhilananda nevertheless continues in the same vein:

The Master did not hide the fact that he wished to make Narendra hisspiritual heir. Narendra was to continue the work after Sri Ramak-rishna's passing. Sri Ramakrishna said to him: "I leave these youngmen in your charge. See that they develop their spirituality and do notreturn home." One day he asked the boys, in preparation for theirmonastic life, to beg their food from door to door without thought ofcaste. They hailed the Master's order and went out with begging-bowls. A few days later he gave the ochre cloth of the sannyasi to eachof them ... Thus the Master himself laid the foundation of the futureRamakrishna Order of monks. (Nikhilananda 1984 [1942]: 70)

As before, one finds no mention of these important happenings in themain body of Gupta's (1984 [1942]) text. As for contrasting evi-dence, Sil (1997: 45) reports that on 19 January 1886 Ramakrishna"worried ... over the wearing of ochre-colored (gerud) clothes on thepart of Naren and a few others, when these were presented to them

26. All evidence we find about this training consists in Gupta's comment (1984 [1942]:886) that "[a] band of young disciples, led by Narendra, was preparing to renounce theworld and dedicate their lives to the realization of God and the service of humanity".The Condensed Gospel version (Gupta 1978 [1907]: 284), is equally vague: "To theyounger disciples, headed by Narendra, this great and unique service for the Master[i.e. tending him in his final illness] led the way to the great renunciation of the world ofwhich they are the most glorious examples in the present day. For was not SriRamakrishna their living Ideal, a unique example before their very eyes - who hadgiven up the world and its so-called pleasures for the sake of God?"

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by Hutko Gopal".27 Importantly, he also points out that "[t]hemaster did not wish [Datta] to become a sannydsi during the lifetimeof his mother" (ibid.).28

We do, however, find an 'official' report of the actual act ofrenunciation undergone by Datta and his cohort in the literature ofthe Ramakrishna movement. These events took place on 24December 1886, a few months after the Master's death. It is a strikingnarration:

... subtle things were happening, knitting the brothers together. It allfound expression one night before a huge Dhuni (sacred fire) in thecompound ... Meditation lasted a long time. When a break was madeNarendra began to tell the story of Jesus, beginning with the mystery ofhis birth through his death and resurrection. Through his eloquence,the brother-disciples could catch something of the apostolic fervourthat had impelled Paul to spread the Christian gospel far and wide inthe face of adversities. Narendra charged them to become Christsthemselves, and so aid in the redemption of the world; to realize Godand to deny themselves as Jesus had done. Standing there before thesacred fire, their faces lit up by the flames, the crackling of the woodthe sole disturbing sound, they took the vows of renunciation beforeGod and one another. The very air was vibrant with their ecstaticfervour. Strangely, the monks discovered afterwards that all this hadhappened on Christmas-eve! (His Eastern and Western Disciples 2000,Vol. I.: 196).29

One cannot but wonder at the total unorthodoxy of this initiation,which in its exalted fervour and strong Christian contents is muchmore reminiscent of Sen's "enthusiasm" and theories of "divine

27. Gupta (1984 [1942]: 975), on the other hand, states that the ochre cloth was donatedby Ramakrishna to the young devotees. It would be interesting to read Gupta's Bengaliversion of these events, if he narrated them.

28. Vivekananda's mother, Bhuvaneshvari Devi (1841-1911) outlived her son. For herportrait and dates see His Eastern and Western Disciples (2000, Vol. I: facing page 16).

29. Williams (1974: 36-7) quotes the same passage from an earlier edition of this work.Comparing the two versions is instructive in terms of the shifting emphases found inofficial Ramakrishna movement literature. In the earlier version the Christian elementis even stronger than in the quoted version. One also notes that in the more recentedition a further paragraph is added to the quoted one, arguably in an attempt tovalidate the initiation. In it one of Vivekananda's group of monks is reported to say,retrospectively, that "[Ramakrishna] had already made us sannyasis. That attitude wasstrengthened at Antpur", i.e. where the described event took place (His Eastern andWestern Disciples 2000, Vol. I: 197). As in other instances, the language is moresuggestive than affirmative, and somewhat ambiguous.

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humanity" than of Ramakrishna's Hinduism. It is also, importantly,a self-administered initiation, with no links to religious authorities orstructures of any sort.30 In this more technical sense it brings to mindDebendranath Tagore's own initiation (described in Chapter 2). It isalso a perfect example of how far the development of the cultic milieuand of its forms of individualistic religiosity had come in Bengal bythis stage.

After Ramakrishna

After Ramakrishna's death, during the period 1886 to 1892,Vivekananda "began his peregrination of India ... and he came incontact not only with the masses throughout the length and breadthof the country but also with the feudal chiefs and petty princelings"(Sil 1997: 49-50). Throughout these years Williams (1974: 36-41,47-59; 1995b: 384-8) traces various periods of doubt, study, seekingand wandering, summarized in phases III to V in scheme (2) at thebeginning of this chapter. We do not need to follow these intellectualand geographical 'peregrinations' in detail, thus we will just look atthe final outcome of these years of wandering.

In late December 1892 the future Vivekananda "reached thesouthern tip of India at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), completinghis journey to the cardinal points of India" (Williams 1974: 57).According to Vivekananda's own post-facto recollections, it is at thispoint that he "hit upon a plan". He reasoned:

We are so many Sannyasins wandering about, and teaching the peoplemetaphysics - it is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva [Ramakrishna]use to say, "An empty stomach is no good for religion"?...

Suppose some disinterested Sannyasins, bent on doing good toothers go from village to village, disseminating education and seekingin various ways to better the condition of all... through oral teaching,and by means of maps, cameras, globes, and such other accessories ...We have to give back to the nation its lost individuality and raise themasses.

To effect this, the first thing we need is men, and the next is funds.Through the grace of our Guru I was sure to get from ten to fifteen men

30. Another ceremony, during which "Naren initiated all his gurubhais into sannyas byperforming Virajd Horn" is reported by Sil (1997: 49) as having taken place "in thethird week of January 1887". But this again leaves open the question of Vivekananda'sown initiation.

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in every town. I next travelled in search of funds, but do you think thepeople of India were going to spend money! ... Therefore I have cometo America, to earn money myself, and then return to my country anddevote the rest of my days to the realisation of this one aim of my life.

As our country is poor in social virtues, so this country is lacking inspirituality. I give them spirituality and they give me money. (CW 6:254-6, original emphasis)

Vivekananda's straightforward characterization of East-West rela-tions is sobering. The details of his plan for social uplift tie in per-fectly with his Brahmo and Neo-Vedantic background. Indeed, hisideas and propositions are just further developments of Sen's own. Asin the case of Modern Yoga vs. Sen's proto Modern Yoga, or in thecase of Neo-Vedantic occultism vs. Neo-Vedantic "spiritualism",what Vivekananda did was to adapt his ideas and teachings to morethoroughly secularised and materialistic conditions.

The shift from one position to the other may be seen by comparingthe above passage with a corresponding one from Sen's literary cor-pus. In 1877, as Narendranath Datta was just a child of eleven, theBrahmo leader proclaimed:

Let England baptize us with the spirit of true philosophy. Let the sagesof Aryan India baptize us with the spirit of heavenly madness. Letmodern England teach hard science and fact; let ancient India teachsweet poetry and sentiment... Let me have only fifty young men fromour Universities, trained in science and philosophy, and baptized withthe spirit of madness, and let these men go forth, as missionary-soldiersof God, conquering and to conquer, and in the fullness of time thebanners of truth shall be planted throughout the length and the breadthof the country... (Sen 1901: 326)

Sen's language may be more flowery and Romantic, his rhetoric moreidealistic - but the common thread linking the two programmes isundeniable. Here we may usefully refer to the testimony of con-temporaries. Mallik is one of the few primary sources stating clearlythe continuities between Sen's and Vivekananda's programmes andideologies:

[Vivekananda] owed the beginnings of [his] spiritual culture to thepattern set by Keshab Chandra ... By whatever name Vivekanandamight have been known he was a reproduction of Keshab Chandra.

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The followers of Vivekananda have signalised their activities byundertaking philanthropic work and in this they are only carrying outthe Seva Sadhan31 that Keshab Chandra first introduced in the BrahmoSamaj... (Quoted in Banerji 1931: 345-6)

Despite Datta's repudiation of Brahmoism, his nation-regeneratingprogramme, and his very own role within it, will ultimately turn outto be cast very much in the form of Sen's missionary enterprise. AsSen had expanded Debendranath Tagore's plan out of the confines ofBengal to apply it to the whole of India, so Vivekananda wouldeventually expand Sen's plan out of the confines of India to the wholeof 'the West', believing as he did (and as he was made to believe) thathe possessed 'spirituality', that elusive entity that would heal theailing Western soul. In order to do this he had to acculturate hismessage, which he did by entering into a creative dialogue with thecircles that accepted and supported him, i.e. with Western culticmilieus.

Vivekananda's esoteric biography II: the West

With Vivekananda's first voyage to the West we come to the highpoint of his life. The young Swami reached America in July 1893 andwould remain in the West up to December 1896. It is during this timethat Neo-Vedantic occultism was created: Raja Yogtf, its seminal text,was published in 1896. In this tract, as we shall see more specificallyin Chapter 5, Vivekananda gives shape to Modern Yoga by blendingNeo-Vedantic esotericism and avant-garde American occultism. ThusNeo-Vedantic ideology became an integral part of Western occultismand, conversely, Western occultist ideas were integrated into Neo-Vedanta. These ideas were then transmitted back to India by way ofVivekananda's thought and example and also, importantly, by way ofthe influential Ramakrishna movement he created.

Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions

Vivekananda's main aim upon leaving India was to attend the Chi-cago Parliament of Religions, due to take place in September 1893.Travelling with very meagre funds, he ran out of money soon after his

31. "Religious practice of service"; this prefigures what is usually referred to as 'karmayoga' in contemporary Neo-Vedantic circles.

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arrival. By a stroke of luck, however, he came to be 'adopted' byprominent members of the local cultic milieu.32 His newfoundfriends, impressed by "the handsome monk in the orange robe" whospoke "perfect English",33 took him under their wing. From thenonwards he was looked after and supported by them, and eventuallyhe also started earning money by giving talks and classes and bybecoming the recipient of donations. With his hosts and companionshe acted as a wise counsellor and teacher, as a friend and as "a soireeornament ... entertaining the wealthy and the curious" (Williams1995b: 388).

That he was accepted so promptly and so unconditionally tells ussomething about his charisma, his adaptive skills and about the open-mindedness of his hosts as individuals and as Americans. But it tellsus just as much about the fascination exercised in cultic milieus byOriental teachers, who would be implicitly understood by romanti-cizing Westerners to be providers of genuine teachings, whatevertheir credentials.34 Vivekananda knew how to reinforce and make useof these sympathies:35 he was, for example, only too eager to assertthe superiority of Hinduism over other religions36 and to reinforceassumptions that all Indians are routinely trained to be outstandingly'spiritual' and religiously observant.37 In this sense we could say that,if Sen was the first Neo-Vedantic guru to make use of these apologeticstrategies in India, Vivekananda was the first Neo-Vedantic guru tosuccessfully use them abroad. He would not be the last.

The Parliament of Religions itself was of course an avant-gardeintellectual manifestation of the activities of the same cultic milieus,

32. Jackson (1994: 29) lists of some of them.33. As described by Harriet Monroe, a major figure in early twentieth-century America

poetry (quoted in ibid.: 26).34. For a cutting but heartfelt insider's critique of the 'gnostic superiority of Indians' motif

see Mehta (1993). Siegel's hilarious but earnest modern guru parody is based on thesame theme (1991: 303-316).

35. See Halbfass (1988: 229): Vivekananda "adopts Western motifs of self-criticism andthe search for India and transforms them into aspects of Hindu self-assertion ..."Regarding Vivekananda's work outside India see Sil's sober evaluation of his "Con-quest of the West" (1997, Chapter 11), which tones down the triumphant notes ofpropaganda we have become accustomed to hear.

36. In his main Parliament of Religions address he states that Hinduism is the most resilientof the three "prehistoric" religions, the other two being Zoroastrianism and Judaism(CW 1: 6); that it encompasses Buddhism and Jainism (ibid.: 6, 19); and that it issuperior to Christianity (ibid.: 11, 15).

37. See, for example, his assertion that "In India they teach children never to eat until theyhave practised or worshipped ... a boy will not feel hungry until he has bathed andpractised" (ibid.: 145).

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East and West. This said, it will be clear why the Brahmo Samaj andthe Theosophical Society were invited as official representatives ofHinduism (Chowdhury-Sengupta 1998: 22). As Vivekananda had notbeen invited to contribute to the proceedings, he had to submit anapplication to the relevant administrators. This he did by introducinghimself as a monk "of the oldest order of sannyasis ... founded bySankara" (Williams 1995b: 388).38 He also asked both Brahmos andTheosophists to validate his application. Interestingly, the Theoso-phical Society refused to offer any help when he stated that he had nointention of becoming a member (See CW 3: 208-10). The BrahmoSamaj, on the other hand, supported him by way of their repre-sentative Protapchandra Mozoomdar, whom we already mentionedin the previous chapter. Sitting on the Parliament's selection com-mittee, Mozoomdar "accepted Vivekananda's late application with-out a letter of invitation and allowed him to participate in theParliament by classifying the Swami as a representative of the Hindumonastic order" (Sil 1997: 188).39

Vivekananda's assimilation of Western occultism

By the end of the Parliament of Religions in September 1893 Vive-kananda had become a media celebrity. On the strength of this hestarted "working for a lecture bureau, drawing large crowds, earningfairly large sums of money and speaking in the major cities of theEast, South and Midwest" (Williams 1974: 59). In July 1894 he quitthe bureau, and between the end of July and the beginning of August1894 he "delivered a series of lectures at the Greenacre Conferencesin Elliot, Maine, sponsored by Christian Scientists. The fall of 1894was spent in Boston, Chicago and New York, responding to theinvitations of the wealthy" (ibid.: 60; regarding conference dates seeibid.: 133).

Vivekananda's involvement with Christian Scientists yet againconfirms that he gravitated in cultic circles. His own teasing but

38. In the first of his Parliament addresses he similarly professed, with typical hyperbole, tobelong to "the most ancient order of monks in the world" (CW 1: 3), though, as wesaw, he had not undergone a traditional monastic initiation. For further details andsources regarding Vivekananda's claims and monastic status see Sil (1997, especiallyChapters 2, 3 and 4) and Williams (1995a: 58-9, 61, 94; 1995b: 388).

39. According to Vivekananda, Mozoomdar later became somewhat resentful of his suc-cess at the Parliament (CW 3: 210-11; cf. also Sil 1997: 152,159). The Swami was alsosupported by Harvard Professor John Henry Wright who gave Vivekananda "a strongletter of recommendation" (Sil 1997: 194).

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largely sympathetic report (CW 6: 259-62) of the Greenacre "queergathering" (ibid.: 259) shows how easily he blended in with Amer-ican esotericists.40 A couple of months later (25 September 1894; CW6: 263-77), writing to his fellow monks back in India, he commentedon the Theosophists and the many spiritualists and Christian Scien-tists found in America. Christian Scientists, he said, "are Vedantins"in the sense that "they have picked up a few doctrines of the Advaitaand grafted them upon the Bible" (ibid.: 270). Something of the sortmay well have been happening. But, as we shall see in our discussionof Raja Yoga, the opposite was definitely taking place too: Viveka-nanda would be grafting the occultistic teachings that he came toknow in America - and which he obviously found convincing - ontohis own (already esotericized) interpretations of Hinduism. It was onthe basis of the teachings that he was quickly absorbing from hisWestern cultic entourage that he was to evolve his (occultistic)understanding of (Neo-)Vedanta.

Vivekananda soon realized that the big American cities of the Eastwere good places to spread his message. In August 1894, less thanone year after the Parliament of Religions, he reported to one of hisfollowers that he would lecture in New York and Boston, the latterbeing described as "a good field" (CW 9: 29).41 And indeed Versluis(1993: 316) confirms that at the end of the nineteenth century Boston"was home to devotees of many exotic cults and beliefs. Asian reli-gions were ... assimilated into the mixture of Theosophy, occultism,astrology, mind reading, psychic research, mesmerism, and otheravant-garde alternatives to traditional religions." The same authorquotes (ibid.) Kathleen Pyne to the effect that this same city "wasfilled with adherents to the cults of India and Egypt ... From"thinking persons" on down to the level of shopkeepers and dress-makers, most Bostonians took it for granted that "psychic force" was

40. A few extracts about this proto-Woodstock gathering (the latter also presided over by aSwami) will suffice: "[The participants] do not care much about social laws and arequite free and happy ... You will be astounded with the liberty they enjoy in the camps,but they are very good and pure people there - a little erratic and that is all... I teachthem Shivo'ham, Shivo'ham, and they all repeat it, innocent and pure as they are andbrave beyond all bounds ... Here God is either a terror or a healing power, vibration,and so forth" (CW 6: 259-61).

41. By Christmas 1899 he is convinced that also the Pacific coast is "a great field" where, ashe remarks, "[t]he Raja-Yoga book seems very well known" (CW 8: 486).

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a reality, while the language of mind-cure could be heard in everydayconversation."42

Such was the milieu into which Vivekananda settled and started topropagate his teachings. It was, mutatis mutandis^ the social groupcorresponding to the Bengali cultic milieu from which he himselfcame. Except that these American circles were far more widespread,affluent, secularized, individualistic and far more intent on engagingin "occult" endeavours (about which see below). It was therefore notsurprising that, with relatively minor adaptations on both sides, hewas readily accepted and accepting. This pattern of social interactioncontinued throughout his stay in the West: embraced by the morefluid, unchurched, affluent strands of the cultic milieu, he in turnadapted to them. Flattered by their admiration and support, he alsoadmired them, and the reciprocation of positive feelings led to mutualassimilation.

Harmonial Religion: Metaphysical beliefs and mesmerism

At this point we must take a step back in time to find out what hadbeen going on in Western cultic milieus over the last few decades thatwould be of relevance to the future development of Modern Yoga, i.e.what Vivekananda came in contact with as he settled into the Wes-tern cultic lifestyle.

An element of great relevance is the strong presence of 'HarmonialReligion' or 'American Harmonial Piety'. As Fuller (1989: 49-53)explains, this type of religiosity was not a direct development ofSwedenborgian teachings, but was based on these teachings' formand vision: "That is, they lent an ideological matrix to a wide array ofactivities and gave them a certain plausibility they might otherwisehave lacked" (ibid.: 49). Fuller further elaborates:

Swedenborg's doctrines gave the nineteenth century its most vividarticulation of a form of piety in which "harmony", rather than con-trition or repentance, is the sine qua non of the regenerated life ... Thedeity - here conceived as an indwelling cosmic force - is approachednot via petitionary prayer or acts of worship, but through a series ofinner adjustments. As the barriers separating the finite personality from

42. The 'cultic' tradition was long-established in Boston: Fuller (1989: 42) reports that abook published in 1834 estimated magnetic healers operating in this city to be over200.

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the "divinity which flows through all things" are gradually penetrated,vitality spontaneously manifests itself in every dimension of personallife ... The Swedenborgian world view depicted interaction betweenthe physical and metaphysical orders of reality as a lawful occurrence.It only remained for adherents of various medical and religious sects toelaborate the means whereby this influx takes place. (Ibid.: 51-2)

As we shall see in Chapter 5, Vivekananda would redefine yoga asjust one such 'Harmonial' technique detailing the "inner adjust-ments" necessary for approaching the indwelling deity, thus attaining"Self-realization".

But over and above Swedenborgian influences, Harmonial piety, asHanegraaff points out, also encompassed a mixture of Transcen-dentalist universalism, mesmerism and spiritualism. In this type ofbelief, spiritual composure, physical health, and even economic well-being were understood to flow from a person's rapport with thecosmos.43 In this context Emersonian Transcendentalism would havea pervasive influence. Emerson's central belief was that each indivi-dual possesses, apart from the conscious intellect, an inner faculty forbecoming receptive to a higher power or Over-Soul. This higherpower was also stated to be the final source of all regenerative andprogressive action. His spirituality did not entail any specific refer-ence to established religions, Christian, Oriental or otherwise, but anaesthetic appreciation of one's own inner connection with the fun-damental laws of the universe (Fuller 1989: 35). The characteristictendency of "Harmonial Religion", as Hanegraaff further explains, is

to understand "the cosmos", "the universe" or "the infinite" in psy-chological terms. The cosmos depends upon, or is even more or lesssynonymous with, an immanent divine "Mind" which is the sourceand foundation of finite minds. Health and harmony on the level ofhuman existence is achieved by replicating in one's own mind theharmonious perfection of the cosmic whole. Since the universe isflawless, the individual soul is flawless as well; it is only by believingotherwise (i.e. by creating an illusion of imperfection) that one disturbthe harmony and interrupts the continuity between the outer and theinner universe (1996: 494-5)

43. Hanegraaff (1996: 494; with reference to Sydney Ahlstrom).

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We shall refer to this psychologized form of Harmonialism as'Metaphysical' (capitalized; Fuller 1989: 53-65). To the defenders ofMetaphysical belief "As a man thinketh, so is he" was no mereaphorism, but an incontrovertible law (ibid.: 62). The practicalimplications of this creed were fully developed by the (mainly)American constellation of groups known under the name of NewThought (Hanegraaff 1996: 484-90). It was New Thought thatintroduced the long-standing modern fashion of 'positive thinking'.This philosophy had as its core message that "individuals could 'takeresponsibility' for their situation: it told them that the only reasonwhy external circumstances seemed to have power over them wasbecause they believed that to be the case" (ibid.: 489). Systems ofbelief and healing that made more direct and exclusive reference tothe mesmeric tradition, on the other hand, such as early chiropracticand osteopathy, insisted on the more immediately tangible aspects of'harmonization', i.e. on operating a somatic realignment (howevertheorized and technically brought about) that would re-establish aharmonious flow of 'life force' (Fuller 1989, Chapter 4). As we shallsee, yoga could easily enter into a dialogue - and did - with eitherpsychological (i.e. Metaphysical) or somatic (i.e. mesmeric) branchesof Harmonialism, due to its varied and flexible psychosomaticemphases.

Of course the American cultic milieu offered a much more variedspectrum of theories and practices than the ones outlined above:these, however, have been singled out because they were the ones thatespecially influenced Vivekananda in his formulation of ModernYoga. That they should prove particularly attractive to him comes asno surprise once we know how influential Swedenborgianism, mes-merism and, even more so, Transcendentalism had been in the Ben-gali cultic milieu (see also Chapter 4). In a way, all that Vivekanandawas coming in contact with were more advanced elaborations ofbeliefs that were based on, and thus confirmed, his earlier worldview.

The demand for "occult" practices at the end of the nineteenthcentury

There was yet another aspect of the American cultic milieu that wasspecific to the Western situation. We have already pointed out at theend of the last chapter how 'Egypt' and 'India' had been elected asrepositories of wisdom and metaphysical knowledge by leading

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Western esotericists and their followers. We have also shown howNeo-Vedantins had appropriated these discourses for apologeticpurposes. There were also more specific developments that we shouldbe aware of. These have been studied by Godwin who summarizesthem as follows:

There seems to have been a concerted effort in the early 1870s to giveout fresh doctrines to a world already familiar with spiritualistic ideasof occult phenomena and the afterlife. The new doctrines would beknown collectively as "occultism", and for some years the relativemerits and meanings of occultism and spiritualism would be debated.The two sects looked to different authorities and held out differentgoals to the aspirant. The authorities of spiritualism were the consciousspirits of the dead, and the goal was to continue one's spiritualdevelopment in the afterlife so as to become more like them. Theauthorities of occultism were adepts of the past, contacted mainlythrough their books, and living adepts who were inaccessible unlessone was contacted by them. The highest goal was to attain adeptshiponeself, in this life. (1994: 302-3)

First of all a clarification about terms: here Godwin uses spiritualismand occultism as emic terms. As explained in the relevant section ofChapter 1, the spiritualism to which Godwin refers (also called'spiritism') is the one based on the nineteenth-century belief thathumans can communicate with the spirits of the departed. Thisshould not be confused with Protestant "spiritualism" and therefore,following Hanegraaff (1996: 403-4), we refer to this as modernspiritualism, without inverted commas. Similarly, Godwin talksabout occultism referring to the emic term used by the groups he isdiscussing. As this meaning should not be confused with the centraletic category of occultism used so far, the emic term that Godwin useswill be distinguished in our use by inverted commas as "occultism".

Regarding the conceptual debates between modern spiritualists and"occultists", it is beyond doubt that Vivekananda was fully aware ofthem: indeed he joins these debates repeatedly in his lectures.44 It isalso clear that, as a Neo-Vedantin, he would join the "occultist"camp in which "the authorities" were past and present "adepts" andthe goal was to obtain "adeptship". However, Vivekananda, in thesecularizing drive that eventually led him to formulate a mixture of

44. For example, CW 1: 150, 157, 159, 321; CW 9: 88, 261, 520-1.

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materialistic and psychologized Modern Yoga, sustained that suchadeptship was in no way "inaccessible", but part of each human'sbirthright. The logical consequence of this was that the relatedtraining would start to be equated with any other type of seculartraining. Sister Devamata (American-born Laura Glenn; d. 1942),who became a follower of Vivekananda after attending his New Yorklectures in 1895-96, shows how such an assumption had becomecommonplace a few decades later. In 1927 she wrote in her diary:"As students in the past have gone to Paris to study art and to Ger-many to study music, so they will in time turn to India to acquire ...the most efficient method of developing the religious conscious-ness."45

Mention of "the most efficient method" brings us to the crux of thematter. The unprecedented development here is that the growingmembership of Western cultic milieus had developed a strong cravingfor practices. In an age of swift technological growth and utilitar-ianism this was, of course, altogether understandable. People wantedtechniques and methods to achieve more or less immediate, practicaland rational goals. Increasing secularization, on the other hand,meant that lay standards were likely to be seamlessly (and unthink-ingly) transposed to the religious sphere.

Godwin (1994: 346) points out how the issue of practices became acentral concern of cultic milieus towards the end of the nineteenthcentury. The two most influential esoteric schools of the period - theTheosophical and Hermetic Societies 46 - were not providing theirmembers with what they most wanted, namely "instruction inpractical occultism". Within the Theosophical Society, for example(more interesting to us because it had strong links with Orientalteachings),

promises had been made [for years] ... But they had come to nothing:the powers of the practical adept seemed to be limited to MadameBlavatsky. And now there were tantalizing accounts ... of the stillgreater powers of the Himalayan Mahatmas, which were held out asthe ultimate goal of everyone. But how was one even to put one's first

45. See Sil (1997: 184) for Devamata's biographical notes and ibid. (p. 99) for diary entry.Of course something of what Sister Devamata foresaw actually came to pass with the1960s' 'hippy trail' to India.

46. The Hermetic Society was founded in 1884 by Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland,but, like other 'Hermetic' societies of the time, was not as interested in Easternteachings as the Theosophical Society was (Godwin 1994: 333).

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step on the ladder that led to these heights? Those close to Blavatskyhoped desperately to be taken on as chelas (disciples) by one of these"great souls" (which is what maha atma means), but it was made clearthat this privilege was almost beyond hoping for. (Ibid.: 346)

It was in this context that yoga started to attract more and moreattention. We already referred to the huge success of Arnold's Lightof Asia, which narrated the life of the Buddha in "a way that matchedVictorian taste".47 The vox populi, representing the intellectual andreligious propensities of the time, selected this romanticized figure asone of its role models. A paragon of Protestant ethics, steeped in theunitive oceanic feeling of intuitive mysticism, doing away withabstruse theologies and ritualism and successfully applying the Vic-torian self-help approach to the spiritual realm, this domesticatedBuddha came to represent the archetypal yogin in the eyes of thecultic milieu - a representation that continues to this day.48 Vive-kananda, as we saw, added his praise to the general consensus.

Vivekananda's 'turn Wesf

By autumn 1894, just over one year after his arrival in America,Vivekananda was well acclimatized to the local cultural temper,which he seems to have found very congenial. Several commentators,both emic and etic, remark on this change, which may be termedVivekananda's 'turn West' to mirror the opposite and complementaryideological move of Western esotericism and occultism (see note 25,Chapter 2). Traffic on the esotericist bridge of East-West dialogue, sofar taking place mainly in a West-East direction, now started to movesubstantially the opposite way too. But moving in this new directionrequired adaptation, and Vivekananda was well aware of this. Wesaw that the Swami's Western audiences wanted 'techniques' and'spiritual practices' as they were bent, in good Western utilitarianfashion, on getting 'results'. Vivekananda could sympathize withthem as he himself was a pragmatist,49 and he did not see any

47. Fields (1992: 68), who adds that Arnold "succeeded because he wrote a story, and not atract or exposition. His Buddha is part Romantic hero, part self-reliant man, and partChrist without being Christ" (ibid.).

48. Arnold's poem is reverentially quoted in influential Modern Yoga books such as Wood(1982 [1959]: 21-4) and, more recently, Criswell (1989: 105).

49. This term is not used in any strict philosophical sense here, but in the colloquial sense of"action or policy dictated by consideration of the immediate practical consequencesrather than by theory or dogma" (Sinclair 1999: 1216).

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problem in adjusting the teachings of Hinduism accordingly. As hewrote from America to his fellow monk Kali (Abhedananda) inNovember 1894:

you should know that religion of the type that obtains in our countrydoes not go here. You must suit it to the taste of the people. If you ask[Americans] to become Hindus, they will all give you a wide berth andhate you, as we do the Christian missionaries. They like some of theideas of our Hindu scriptures - that is all ... A few thousand peoplehave faith in the Advaita doctrine. But they will give you the go-by ifyou talk obscure mannerisms about sacred writings, caste, or women.(CW7:481)

Adjusting his teachings on the basis of these principles, the Swamiachieved good results over the following winter (1894-95). In June1895 he wrote to a friend that he was not going to return to India forthe time being, even though his fellow monks back there were "get-ting desperate" for his return. He felt that he had to carry on with hisWestern work: "I have a seed planted here and wish it to grow. Thiswinter's work in N. Y. [sic] was splendid,[50] and it may die if Isuddenly go over to India" (CW 8: 343). Thus Vivekananda's 'turnWest' shows in a complete shift in the Swami's self-chosen 'mission'.In Jackson's words:

At the time he sailed for the United States, the swami's primary con-cern ... was not the propagation of Vedanta in the West but raisingmoney to finance the humanitarian work that he planned in India ...[The] warm reception at the congress [i.e. Parliament of Religions] andduring lectures in the months afterward persuaded him to launch aseparate Western effort in tandem with the Indian work ... the idea ofestablishing Vedanta centres in the United States was an unanticipatedresult rather than the original intent of his Western trip. (1994: 25; cf.also ibid.: 28).51

50. Classes seem to have continued to go well: in a letter dated 25 April 1895 (CW 6: 306)Vivekananda refers to regular, well-attended "yoga classes" (that is, talks). In May1895 he states that difficulties have been overcome (probably the financial difficultiesreferred to in CW 6: 308) and that "classes will go on nicely now no doubt" (CW 7:489).

51. Cf. Marie-Louise Burke, who "concludes that the idea of a separate Western missiondid not crystallise in Vivekananda's mind until late 1894" (quoted in Jackson 1994:155, note 33). For etic treatments cf. ibid. (p. 25, partly quoted below) and Sil (1997:154-5).

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There is, however, also an inner, and arguably more seminal aspect toVivekananda's 'turn West'. By looking closely enough, we can see thebeginnings of a deeper shift from an esoteric to an occultisticworldview, thanks to which Neo-Vedanta becomes fully engaged inthe shaping of New Age religion. This will create a special compat-ibility between these two ideological strands: the two will, as it were,develop hand in hand, overlapping in parts, but also capable ofautonomous growth. Exemplarily if not exclusively embodied inVivekananda, this deeper change was in the making over the summerof 1895, and finally came to full fruition over the winter of 1895-96.

From mid-June to early August 1895 Vivekananda ran a specialretreat at Thousand Island Park. Only a few selected students wereinvited to this event, during which Vivekananda intended to "man-ufacture a few 'Yogis'" (CW 6: 306). Situated on an island in the StLawrence River, the house where the group met belonged to one ofthe Swami's admirers. This may well have been the earliest 'yogaretreat' to take place in the West, as, according to Jackson (1994: 30),Vivekananda instructed his followers in "deep breathing and medi-tation". An account of the theoretical teachings given on this occa-sion is extant (CW 7: 3-104). Revealingly, we find a mixture of Sen-like religion of "divine humanity" and Metaphysical tenets, resultingin an insistence on the importance of "Self" and "Self-realization".Exemplary quotations are only too easy to find:

It is impossible to find God outside of ourselves. Our own souls con-tribute all the divinity that is outside of us. We are the greatest temple.The objcertification is only a faint imitation of what we see withinourselves. (Ibid.: 59)

All is my Self. Say this unceasingly. (Ibid.: 61)

Go into your own room and get the Upanishads out of your own Self.You are the greatest book that ever was or ever will be, the infinitedepository of all that is. (Ibid.: 71)

"I am the essence of bliss." Follow no ideal, you are all that is. (Ibid.:74)

Christs and Buddhas are simply occasions upon which to objectify ourown inner powers. We really answer our own prayers. (Ibid.: 78)

We may call it Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Jehovah, Allah, Agni, but it isonly the Self, the "I". (Ibid.: 88)

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The first and the penultimate quotations also show signs of the NewThought view according to which we should "take responsibility" forour own situation by way of activating our mental powers. Alongwith these hints, we also find more direct examples of the Swami'sattempts to integrate Neo-Vedanta with Metaphysical and NewThought forms of belief:

Each thought is a little hammer blow on the lump of iron which ourbodies are, manufacturing out of it what we want it to be.

We are heirs to all the good thoughts of the universe, if we openourselves to them. (Ibid.: 20)

The universe is thought, and the Vedas are the words of this thought.We can create and uncreate this whole universe. (Ibid.: 47)

We further find in the records that the '4 yogas' model is starting toemerge as the paragon of efficient spiritual practice:

The will can be made strong in thousands of ways; every way is a kindof Yoga, but the systematised Yoga accomplishes the work morequickly. Bhakti, Karma, Raja, and Jnana-Yoga get over the groundmore effectively. (Ibid.: 71)

By the autumn of 1895 Vivekananda was well versed in adaptingHindu traditional lore to the requirements of the West. In an inter-esting letter to his onetime friend and collaborator E. T. Sturdy hegives a striking example of how he went about this. During a stay inLondon he had been visited by two intellectually cultivated seekers:

both of them want[ed] to know the rituals of my creed! This openedmy eyes ... It is absolutely necessary to form some ritual and have aChurch. That is to say, we must fix on some ritual as fast as we can ...we shall go to the Asiatic Society library or you can procure for me abook which is called Hemadri Kosha^52^ from which we can get whatwe want, and kindly bring the Upanishads. We will fix somethinggrand, from birth to death of a man. A mere loose system of philo-sophy gets no hold of mankind. (CW 8: 356-7)

These particular ideas did not materialize in the end. But the point ismade about how eager Vivekananda was to please his followers, and

52. The "Dictionary of Hemadri": colloquial name for Hemadri's (1260-1309) Catur-vargacintdmani, a kind of encyclopaedia of ancient religious rites.

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also about how sharply he realized that they needed more than a"loose system of philosophy" to hang on to. Yoga practice eventuallyemerged as the obvious complement.

Vivekananda's (4 yogas' model

After some trial and error the Swami succeeded in adjusting hisdoctrinal focus so as to satisfy his audiences: this final conceptualshift, which took place in winter 1895-96, is clearly observable whenreading newspaper reports of his public addresses in chronologicalorder from 1893 to 1900.53 Up to early 1895 our author's mainpreoccupation had been to defend, explain and justify Hinduism tohis American audiences. This he mainly did by presenting Brahmo-oriented Neo-Vedantic esotericism in highly apologetic terms. Overthe summer of 1895 he started elaborating and passing on moresyncretic teachings and practices to an inner circle of students. Overthe winter of 1895-96 these teachings, now more structured, werepresented to a wider public. The second winter of successful teachingin the West and the growth of a dependable, dedicated and financiallysupportive following54 also allowed (and encouraged) him to becomemore daring and assertive. There is also evidence that these newteachings were not only elaborated in response to his audiences'needs, but that he himself found them satisfactory and enriching.55

The basic message was simple: a reinterpreted, simplified and mod-ernized Vedanta was presented as the exemplary form of "Universalreligion", capable of catering for all religious needs through differenttypes of yoga.56

At this juncture, Vivekananda adopts Sen's "fourfold classificationof devotees" (see Chapter 2). He, however, progressively re-elaborates it into what will become his '4 yogas' scheme, which from

53. See the section on "American Newspaper Reports" in CW 9: 429-512. Other series ofnewspaper reports published in Vivekananda's Collected Works do not reveal thispattern as they only cover periods up to April 1895 (CW 2) and April 1894 (CW 3).Other, more complete collections of newspaper reports (Basu and Ghosh 1969; Burke1983-87) should show a similar evolutive pattern.

54. Some of his publications, including Raja Yoga, were sponsored by his pupils (CW 8:374-5).

55. See the comments made during the first public lecture he gave in Colombo after hisreturn from the West (15 January 1897; CW 3: 104): "Some good has been done, nodoubt, in the West, but specially to myself; for what before was the result of anemotional nature, perhaps, has gained the certainty of conviction and attained thepower and strength of demonstration."

56. See Jackson's overview of the Ramakrishna movement's teachings (1994, Chapter 4).

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this point onwards becomes central to his teachings.57 In a newspaperreport dated 8 December 1895 (CW 9: 482) we read that the Swami'suniversal religion is adaptable to all circumstances because it caters toall types of people: it comprises four different types of "worship"adapted to the "four general types of men ... the rational, theemotional, the mystical and the worker". By 19 January 1896 "theSwami's fundamental teachings", echoing the basic tenets propagatedduring the summer 1895 retreat, are reported to revolve around whatis now four types of yoga, leading to "God-" and "Self-realization":

Every man must develop according to his own nature. As every sciencehas its methods, so has every religion. Methods of attaining the end ofour religion are called Yoga, and the different forms of Yoga that weteach are adapted to the different natures and temperaments of men.We classify them in the following way, under four heads:(1) Karma Yoga - The manner in which a man realizes his own

divinity through works and duty.(2) Bhakti Yoga - The realization of a divinity through devotion to

and love of a personal God.(3) Rajah [sic] Yoga - The realization of divinity through control of

mind.(4) Gnana Yoga - The realization of man's own divinity through

knowledge.These are all different roads leading to the same center - God. Indeed,the varieties of religious belief are an advantage, since all faiths aregood, so far as they encourage man to religious life. The more sectsthere are the more opportunities there are for making successfulappeals to the divine instinct in all men. (CW 9: 484)58

It was at this time that the Swami's teachings really struck root inAmerican soil. After the period of nomadic lecturing following theParliament of Religions, he finally managed to establish a teachingbase in New York. The faithful stenographer J. J. Goodwin joinedhim in the winter of 1895 and began systematically to record histeachings,59 soon to be transformed into books. By February 1896 hisfirst book on Karma-Yoga was on the market and Raja Yoga was in

57. He may conceivably have started to elaborate this theme as early as May 1895, when hegave a lecture on "The rationale of yoga" (CW 6: 306; see full chronology (notincluding CW 9) in Williams 1974: 133-4). This text, however, is not extant.

58. An almost identical but undated passage is found in the section "Notes from lecturesand discourses" in CW 5: 292 under the title "The goals and methods of realization".

59. See CW 5: 120-1,123; CW 8: 370, 373. See also biographical notes in Sil (1997: 186).

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the press.60 The latter was sold out and ready to go through anotheredition by November of the same year;61 Jnana-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga would be published posthumously.

It is in Raja Yoga, however, that Vivekananda's worldview takesthe final leap from Neo-Vedantic esotericism to Neo-Vedanticoccultism. We have discussed how Neo-Vedanta absorbed the three'mirrors of secularization' (evolutionism, the study of religions, andthe psychologization of religion) before Vivekananda's time. We alsofound that Vivekananda, while continuing to build on these foun-dations, took the psychologization of religion further by assimilatingMetaphysical teachings into his worldview. In his final synthesis ofModern Yoga, i.e. in Raja Yoga, this will continue. But beyond this,the Swami will attempt to apply the then foundational concept ofmechanistic instrumental causality pervasively to his subject, thuscompleting the process of secularization (and occultization) of Neo-Vedanta. These developments will be analysed in some detail inChapter 5.

Before we proceed to that, however, we must throw a final back-ward glance to Neo-Vedantic doctrinal developments by discussing acentral question: we saw how the ultimate aim of Vivekananda's '4yogas' was "realization", either of "God" or of "Self". The impor-tance and desirability of such "realization" will remain a funda-mental assumption in the greatest majority of Modern Yogaelaborations. But not only is the "realization" semantic cluster fun-damental in Neo-Vedanta: it will also be the main conceptual locus ofoverlap and identification between Neo-Vedanta and New Age reli-gion. As we shall see in Part II, this intellectual dynamis of identifi-cation and cross-fertilization will be for the best part played outwithin the framework of 'alternative healing' discourses, i.e. withinthe framework of what will later be known as 'alternative medi-cine'.62 Modern Yoga will act as a pioneering discipline in its pro-cesses of acculturation to Western occultism, to be later followed byother Indian and non-Indian traditions.63 Because of the importanceof "realization" discourses in this context, and because of their

60. Letter dated 29 February 1896 (CW 8: 373).61. CW6: 382; also CW 5: 123, which further states that the biggest buyers were India and

America.62. For a discussion of this and related terms see Chapter 6.63. Such as, for example, Japanese martial arts and a number of Chinese traditions: acu-

puncture, Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan) and, more recently, Qi Gong (Chi Kung) andAyurveda.

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centrality in holding Eastern and Western occultism together, weshall proceed to analyse their linguistic and semantic history in thenext chapter.

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4. "God-realization" and"Self-realization" in Neo-

Vedanta

We are going to enter into the domain of a new dispensation, that of science andfaith harmonized...

(Sen 1901: 439)

The importance of Vivekananda's ideological and institutional con-tributions to modern understandings and perceptions of Hinduismhas been highlighted by a number of scholars (see below). The factthat these contributions hinge on the concept of "realization" hasalso been pointed out. The esoterico-occultistic implications andfoundations of these facts, however, still need to be made explicit. Abeginning in this direction will be attempted in the present chapterand in the next.

Pervasiveness of Vivekananda's Neo-Vedantic influences

In the Preface to his biography of Vivekananda, Sil (1997: 11) statesthat the Swami is still widely perceived as "the spiritual ambassadorof India to the West", as the "most powerful inspiration behind thecountry's successful nationalist struggle" and as "the most author-itative voice of Hindu India". Rambachan, on the other hand,emphasizes the Swami's role not only as a propagator, but also as theshaper of discourses when he writes:

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Vivekananda's influence is ... pervasive ... Not only did he largelyformulate [the contemporary understanding of Hinduism], but he alsogave it the language in which it is articulated. There is very little inmodern Hindu, particularly Vedanta, apologetic writing that does notcarry the clear imprint of Vivekananda's influence. (1994: 7)

First-person reports of how deeply the Swami affected otherpeople's lives also abound, but one especially relevant example willsuffice. The scholar and onetime president of India, SarvepalliRadhakrishnan, one of the most successful propagators of a polishedform of Neo-Vedanta in the twentieth century, was deeply influenced,along with many others before and after him, by Vivekananda'sthought and example. Reminiscing about his student days he affirmedthat it was the Swami's "humanistic, man-making religion that gaveus courage" (quoted in King 1999: 136). As the nationalist spiritgathered momentum, the Swami's letters were circulated in manu-script form among the students, to great effect: "The kind of thrillwhich we enjoyed, the kind of mesmeric touch that those writingsgave us, the kind of reliance in our own culture that was being cri-ticized all around - it is that kind of transformation which his writingseffected in the young men in the early years of this century" (ibid.).

As for Vivekananda's institutional legacy, Williams (1995a: 55)confirms that the Ramakrishna movement established byVivekananda "has been credited with championing the culturalrevival ... of modern India" and with the "purifying [of] Hindumonasticism". Reporting on the Western side of the operation,Jackson (1994: 144) states that "more than any other group, theRamakrishna movement has become the 'official' voice of Hinduismin the West". While both these opinions may be somewhat overstatedin the sense that they do not take into account dissenting or com-peting voices, there is no denying the pervasiveness of Vivekananda'sinfluence on modern Hinduism and on how Hinduism came to beperceived in the West.

Centrality of the "realization" theme

As for the more theoretical aspects of Vivekananda's teachings,Rambachan highlights the centrality of the "realization" theme:

One cannot overestimate the importance of the experience of directperception in Vivekananda's philosophy of religion. It is this that he

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4. "GOD-REALIZATION" AND "SELF-REALIZATION" IN NEO-VEDANTA

signifies by the frequently used expression realization and that may,with good reason, be said to constitute the central and most out-standing feature of his religious thought. It is an idea that he un-failingly labors in almost every one of his lectures. (1994: 94-5)

According to Vivekananda, the foremost method to attain such"direct perception of religious truths" is through rdjayoga practice(ibid.: 96). In this context, samadhi represents "the culmination of allthe disciplines of rdjayoga" (ibid.: 98). Indeed, Rambachan con-cludes, Vivekananda "presents samadhi as the only satisfactorysource of brahmajndna", for in his thought samadhi occupies "thesame function and status as a source of knowledge for brahmajndna,which Sankara ascribes to the Vedas as sabda-pramdna (a source ofvalid knowledge)" (ibid.}.

This idea of yogic experience or "realization", as defined byVivekananda, will play a major role by becoming the standard Neo-Vedantic translation for the two key concepts of brahmajndna anddtmajhdna. As these two Sanskrit terms stand at the very core ofmuch Upanisadic and Vedantic thought, so their correspondingEnglish translations as "God-" and "Self-realization" stand at thevery core of the Neo-Vedantic ideology popularized by Vivekananda.Understanding the formation of these neologisms and following theirsemantic transformations over time can help us to understand centralaspects of Neo-Vedantic belief.

Ultimate aims: Vedantic and Neo-Vedantic

Hay (1988: 72), again acting as our guide to commonplace views onmodern Hinduism, states that Vivekananda became "the apostle tothe world of his master's philosophy of God-realization". Is this trulywhat the master's teachings were about? Williams (1974: 37) seemsto agree: "All that Ramakrsna had taught converged into two prin-ciples: the realization of God and the renunciation of the world."Hay's and Williams' statements are important because they show towhat extent the "realization" theme is by now considered, bothpopularly and academically, as an integral part of the teachings ofRamakrishna. As the latter is widely perceived to be the mostrepresentative modern Hindu holy man along with RamanaMaharshi, these are momentous statements indeed.

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It is only with Vivekananda, however, that the expressions "God-realization" and "Self-realization" acquire specific Neo-Vedanticovertones, one or the other of these expressions being sometimesemphasized to the detriment of the other. As is well known, ideolo-gies and popular discourses are propagated on the wings of so-called'buzzwords', the boundaries of which most of the time remain vagueand the contents ill-defined. But they become 'buzzwords' preciselybecause, while their semantic content proves somehow very attractiveand central in relation to the perceived needs of the users, they arealso unspecific enough to be used as umbrella terms for quite differentyearnings and programmes. This is precisely what happened with"God-" and "Self-realization". As Bharati notes,

["God-realization" is a] pervasive Indian-English neologism inRenaissance [i.e. Neo-Vedantic] parlance ... its use is quite differentfrom any British or American use of the word 'realization'. Themeaning of the Indian-English term is something like 'consummationof religious experience'. Possibly, the term might first have been usedby neo-Vedantins in a semi-technical sense: if you realize by an act ofguided intuition, that you are one with the absolute (brahman), youhave ipso facto reached the goal of the religious life. (1970: 281, note43)

Bharati's hunch about the expression deriving from Neo-Vedanticmilieus is indeed accurate. As we shall presently show, the "realiza-tion" terminology was in the making throughout the best part of thenineteenth century, but it finally took its current form in the entou-rage that gravitated around Ramakrishna, and from whichVivekananda and the influential Ramakrishna movement emerged.

Classical interpretations of dtma- and brahmajnana

Over time, various authors have attempted to translate and con-textualize in a different language (English) and mindset (modern) thecentral concepts of brahmajnana and atmajnana. Through processesof linguistic translation and cultural transcontextualization, however,old meanings have disappeared and new ones have been created. Thetwo Sanskrit terms themselves have a long and distinguished history

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in Hinduism: attaining brahmajnana1 is a goal repeatedly recom-mended in the Upanisads, and as such it has become a standarddefinition of the ultimate goal in most Vedantic contexts. This con-cept has direct links with the Vedas and places itself centrally in boththe Upanisadic-Vedantic and yogic traditions. As Hardy explains:

The Upanisads ... contain a large number of speculations on the One[i.e. brahman], along the cosmological lines of the earlier literature.And the aim is still to 'come to know it'. But the purpose of suchknowledge has changed. To 'know it' now means to achieve thatqualitative leap into the realm of liberation ... [T]he concept ofbrahman [now] emerges from [former Vedic speculations] as the solesurvivor. This nevertheless expanded the denotation of the term farbeyond what the earlier literature meant by it. Now brahman was notjust the 'sacred' power pervading the sacrifice and the Veda itself, andnot just the One out of which the many arose, but also the One intowhich man merges back by achieving his liberation from the cycle ofrebirths (samsdra). Moreover, brahman is an experiential reality,available through meditation.... The 'coming to know' itself is mentioned under different names

[including brahmajnana] but eventually the common and well-knownterm 'yoga' becomes universally used to refer to such forms of medi-tation. (1990: 52-3)

The earliest Upanisads (Brhadaranyaka, Chdndogya, etc.) dwelt onmore mystically oriented monistic teachings, defending a specialontological relationship between dtman and brahman. A different setof interpretations, however, was already starting to appear before thebeginning of the common era. In the so-called theistic Upanisads(Svetdsvatara, Mundaka, etc.), the yogic union of dtman and brah-man starts to be interpreted in terms of union between individuatedpurusa and universal purusa or God (Falk 1986: 208-9). The fullflourishing of these theories will come about in classical Vedanta withthe formulation of the Advaita, Visistadvaita and Dvaita positions,their doctrinal bias reflected in specific yogic emphases:

1. Literally "knowledge/gnosis of brahman" and more loosely "divine or sacred knowl-edge, spiritual wisdom" (Monier-Williams 1994 [1899]: 738), "divine knowledge"(Apte 1991 [1890]: 395), and "knowledge of the Absolute" or, in Neo-Vedantic mode,"Self-realization" (Grimes 1996: 95).

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Ever since Sankara put forth his system of advaita, Hindu philoso-phical and theological discussion has been a dialectical controversywithin the Vedanta school of philosophy between his non-dualism onthe one hand and various shades of "qualified" non-dualism (visista-advaitd) or dualism (dvaita) on the other. On the practical religiouslevel the two sides of this discussion have been identified with jndnayoga and bhakti yoga respectively. (Neevel 1976: 85)

From a certain point of view, the discrepancies in teaching betweenRamakrishna and Vivekananda reflect the above Dvaita-Advaitadichotomy. This would not be a major point of controversy had bothteachers propagated positions consistent with the foregoing Vedantictraditions. Indeed, due to the inclusiveness of Ramakrishna's teach-ings, Vivekananda's predilections may just have represented a shift inemphasis.

But the situation is not as simple as that. Not only did Vivekanandashow strong leanings towards Advaita; what is much more significantis that he brought about a number of crucial doctrinal and practicalchanges to key traditional concepts. Of course, he was not the first toattempt novel formulations: indeed, as we saw in the previouschapters and as confirmed by Halbfass (1988, Chapter 12), suchformulations were strongly called for by the nineteenth-centuryIndian "hermeneutic situation" from Rammohan Roy onwards. Thedifference with Vivekananda was that, steeped in Neo-Vedanticesotericism, he came to combine this with avant-garde Westernoccultism. His physical presence and charisma, his organizationaldrive, an established tradition of Western interest in 'the mystic East'and the diffused fin de siecle anxiety were all factors that contributedto his success.2 On a more practical and organizational level, theSwami created (thanks also to the financial support of his Westerndisciples) new cultural and institutional links between East and West.These have developed in very productive ways up to now, and seemto hold good potential for growth also in future - though possiblymore in India than elsewhere nowadays.

2. Concerning 'the mystic East' concept, rooted in Romanticism, see Halbfass (1988,Chapters 5-8) and King (1999). Concerning fin de siecle gloom see Teich and Porter(1990).

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Early attempts at translation and contextualization:Rammohan Roy

Let us examine some significant examples of the pre-Vivekanandatradition of attempted translations. Rammohan Roy marks anobvious beginning: the earliest modern popularizer and translator ofVedantic teachings3 and of selected Upanisads in both Indian ver-nacular (Bengali) and English, he was also the first whose Englishvocabulary seemed to waver and slip around this admittedly hard-to-render (in its philosophical and cultural meanings) term.

In Roberston's monograph (1995) on the famous Bengali we readthat, according to Roy, "the entire literature of vedanta discusse[d]only two topics": firstly "Brahmavidya or Atmavidya, 'knowledge ofthe unmanifest Supreme Being'", and secondly "sadhana 'the means'of upasana, 'worship' of the unmanifest Supreme Being" (ibid.: 88).4

We may note in passing that in this radically simplified view ofVedanta we already have, at this early stage, a kind of preview ofwhat will become the essence of twentieth-century Modern Yoga: astrong focus on "practice" justified by a theory of "realization"(whether of "God" or "Self").

Starting from these premises, Roy identified what he believed to be"the heart of vedanta", i.e. the injunction "'Adore God alone'"(ibid.). Such "true worship leads to liberation (moksa) ... [as] 'Hewho knows God thoroughly adheres unto God' ... [and] 'whoever isendowed with knowledge of God attains God-nature"'(ibid.: 94).Again, we are already well on the way to "God-" and "Self-realization": brahman has already become "God", and 'knowing'him bestows liberation and "God-nature" onto the knower. But thiswas only Roy's early position - strongly theistic and somewhatsimplistic, not having been worked out in too much detail - asexposed in his 1816 Abridgement of the Vedant. His ideas andterminology, however, were to develop over time.

We shall briefly expand on them because Roy's position wasseminal with regard to later Neo-Vedantic ideological developments.Roy's direct influence in this context is, of course, important, but weshould also see him as the channel through which the concerns and

3. In his Vedantasara (1815, see Chapters 1 and 2).4. Words within single quotation marks in extracts from Robertson (1995) are Roy's actual

translations of Vedantic texts into English.

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conceptualizations of the Bengali intelligentsia of his day were voiced.It was with the support and feedback of his entourage that headdressed a number of vital issues: the gradual erosion of the rela-tively egalitarian. Enlightenment-informed relations with BritishOrientalists; the exclusivistic claims of Christianity, boosted by theWest's technological might; the power that the West (and especiallyBritain) wielded in India and on the global stage; and the pressingneed to retain a Hindu and Indian identity while accommodating thetenets of modernity.

After the publication of The Precepts of Jesus (1820) and theensuing controversy, as we saw in Chapter 2, Roy shifted to Uni-tarian positions. This ideological battle made Roy take up a moredefensive attitude and emphasize the role of an ineffable brahman, asopposed to his earlier, more Christian-sounding term "God". TheTrust Deed of the Brahmo Samaj building, opened in January 1830,5

seems in fact to go out of its way to avoid using the latter term, whileat the same time demonstrating how firmly Christian-style ethics andmorality were becoming part of Neo-Vedantic formulations. Thisinteresting document also shows how Roy was starting to gravitatetowards forms of unstructured "spiritualism" which would greatlyencourage the growth of a cultic milieu. The Brahmo Samaj building,we read, was

[t]o be used ... as a place of public meeting of all sorts and descriptionsof people without distinction as shall behave and conduct themselvesin an orderly sober religious and devout manner for the worship andadoration of the Eternal Unsearchable and Immutable Being who is theAuthor and Preserver of the Universe but not under or by any othername designation or title peculiarly used for and applied to any par-ticular Being or Beings by any man or set of men whatsoever ... andthat no sermon preaching discourse prayer or hymn be delivered madeor used in such worship but such as have a tendency to the promotionof the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe to thepromotion of charity morality piety benevolence virtue and thestrengthening the bonds of union between men of all religious per-suasions and creeds. (Quoted in Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 35)

5. Roy founded a society called Brahmo Sabha in 1828, but the name was soon changed toBrahmo Samaj. It is also interesting to note that in 1815 he had already established asimilar society called Atmiya Sabha which, however, stopped functioning in 1819(Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 31). The choice of names points to the centrality of brahman-and atman-related terminology in Neo-Vedanta.

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Summing up Roy's role in the context of the present discussion wemay say that he was the first to bring to prominence and explore theconceptual range of what would later be called "God-" and "Self-realization". Differently from those who were to follow, however, hewas still inclined to legitimize teachings through revealed texts ratherthan through 'inner feeling' and inspiration as Debendranath Tagorewould do after him. A kind of Neo-Vedantic philosophe, Roy alsosought to legitimize his religion through rationality and on the basisof "humanistic principles rather than through esoteric and meta-physical knowledge" (Godwin 1994: 314). He nevertheless activelyprepared the ground for later Neo-Vedantic esoteric speculations(albeit unwittingly) by starting to loosen Hinduism from earlier formsof orthodox dogmatism and their corresponding social structures.6

Subsequent attempts at translation and contextualization byBrahmo leaders and others

The next influential individual within the Brahmo intelligentsia, as wesaw, was Debendranath Tagore. While he followed Roy in his beliefthat "original Hinduism was a pure spiritual theism, and in hisenthusiasm for the Upanishads, [he] did not share his deep reverencefor Christ" (Farquhar 1977 [1914]: 39) nor for the infallibility ofrevealed texts. He did, however, play his role in keeping the Neo-Vedantic equivalence between "God" and "brahman" alive. TheBrahmo Covenant is a good example of this. The Covenant was "alist of solemn vows to be taken by every one on becoming a memberof the Society" (ibid.: 40). Drawn up in 1843, it centred upon beliefin "God" and on the practice of his worship (ibid.). The fact that thestandard ritual of formal worship elaborated by Debendranath wascalled Brahmopasana (ibid.) shows how the two terms "God" and"brahman" were regarded as synonyms. The Bengali leader's own lifeand proclivities also contributed to establish the 'y°gic realizationmystique' as an important Neo-Vedantic theme. This would laterbecome a major component of the "Swadeshi Sannyasi" apologeticand nationalistic model that Vivekananda powerfully contributed toestablish (see Chowdury-Sengupta 1996). As Farquhar (1977 [1914]:40) points out: Debendranath "lived a life of constant prayer and

6. For in-depth analyses of Roy's religio-philosophical beliefs and leanings see alsoKillingley (1977; 1993).

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worship of God; and the direct communion of the human soul withthe supreme Spirit was the most salient point in his teaching".

By the middle of the nineteenth century we also find evidence ofscientistic proto Modern Yoga concepts being elaborated in moresecular contexts. These would have represented a more 'empirical'level of speculation vis-a-vis more religiously oriented Brahmo spec-ulations. The earliest evidence traced consists of a fascinating tract bythe Bengali surgeon N. C. Paul (Navlna-Chandra Pala), first pub-lished in 1850 (Paul 1888).

This author did not employ the realization terminology we havebeen examining, but attempted to explain yoga in scientific and'mesmerico-hypnotic' terms. About the latter type of explanation, forexample, he stated that "The Dhyana of the Yogis is the Turyaavastha of the Vedantists7 - the ecstacy [sic] of the Physicians, theself-contemplation of the German mesmerists, and the clairvoyanceof the French philosophers" (ibid.: ii). He also described variousstages of yogic practice as stages of "self-trance" (ibid.: i-ii, 24). Asfor scientific explanations, he discussed the physiology and chemistryof breathing, concluding that what yogis aim to do is to exhale lesscarbonic acid (ibid.: 1-12). The two kinds of explanation are oftenbrought together, as when Paul states that

When the mind is abstracted from its functions [i.e. during meditation]the amount of carbonic acid is lessened. Hence the Yogis are recom-mended to fix their sight on the tip of the nose or upon the spacebetween the eye-brows. These peculiar turns of the axes of visionsuspend the respiratory movements and generally produce hypnotism.(ibid.: 3)

Apart from these more empirical speculations, however, we findthat when discussing the ultimate aims of yoga he too is attempting toreach a satisfactory definition of brahmajndna. When leading a fullyyogic life the adept becomes "susceptible to peculiar spiritualimpressions" and, after the prolonged performance of certain prac-tices, he is "said to hold communion with the Supreme Soul" (ibid.:35). At this point "The Yogi becomes full of Brahma (the SupremeSoul) ... his soul not only holds communion with the invisible,inconceivable, unalterable, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent

7. See note 11, Chapter 8.

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Being, but he becomes absorbed into the essence of the same" (ibid.:56).

If Brahmo thinkers were gradually progressing towards the for-mulation of Neo-Vedantic occultism, men like Paul show us the morematerialistic, pragmatic and utilitarian sides of the Indian esotericspectrum, already tending toward mesmeric types of speculation andcultivating an interest in alternative types of medicine and healing. Wealso know that these two strands of thought were in creative dialogue:the Tagore family, for example, encouraged research into the medicalapplications of hypnosis by supporting Dr James Esdaile's MesmericHospital at Calcutta in the 1840s (Godwin 1994: 160, 180, 317). Anumber of other Brahmos actively cultivated and propagated thestudy and practice of homeopathy.8 Eventually, physicians of the souland physicians of the body would join forces and techniques to for-mulate a Modern Yoga identified much more closely, at least at firstsight, with categories of 'health and healing' than with religiousconcerns. This secularized yoga would eventually play a major roleboth in Neo-Vedanta and New Age styles of religiosity.

Keshubchandra Sen is the next Brahmo leader we need to discuss.Sen further elaborated the central Neo-Vedantic "realization" theme,albeit taking it in a different direction. Of all individuals reviewedhere, Sen was the one with the strongest Christian leanings, and thesewere altogether of the "spiritualist" type. Through his influence,elaborations on the relationship between God and the faithfulbecame much more firmly rooted into English, Christian and esotericsemantic modes, while Sanskritic conceptualization faded into adistant background. Under such conditions, radical conceptual shiftsfrom the standards of classical Hinduism were relatively easy tooperate. Hence what Vivekananda will later reappropriate under thelabel of "God-" and "Self-realization" would already have beencharged with strong Christian and esoteric values. This defining trait,also retained in the Neo-Vedanta of the Ramakrishna movement, will

8. "Many [Brahmo] doctors in the late nineteenth century went abroad to studyhomeopathy" (Kopf 1979: 111). More research into the overlaps between Neo-Vedanta,Indian medical sciences and esoterico-alternative forms of healing may bring to lightfurther examples of this type of dialogue. In any case, the fact that such an 'esoteric'medical system has been fully accepted as 'orthodox' in India from quite early on is initself revealing in the context of the present discussion. For an interesting overview of thepractice of Homeopathy in nineteenth-century Bengal (and a discussion of relatedresearch methodologies) see Arnold and Sarkar (2002).

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prove, perhaps unsurprisingly, very appealing to unchurched or dis-senting Christian milieus.

As the first fully-fledged Neo-Vedantic esotericist, Sen introducedthe modern reading of individualistic "God-realization" as 'directperception', a concept that will become pivotal in Vivekananda'sunderstanding of "realization". This is clearly expressed in two lec-tures, delivered in 1875 and 1880 respectively (Sen 1901: 194-241,394-442).9 In the first one Sen states that "The great question inwhich all Hindu devotees are anxiously interested is whether the soulhas seen the Lord. Have you perceived Him? is what they ask eachother" (Sen 1901: 205-6).10 Sen then goes on to appropriate for Neo-Vedanta the central "spiritualist" tenet of the Divine Spark, byaffirming that "the Hindu mind" is eminently receptive to this innerspiritual reality. To "the primitive Hindu mind", he states, the "ideaof perceiving the In-dwelling Spirit, far from being foreign, is emi-nently native" (Sen 1901: 207). As for his verdict on scripture, hisarguments resemble the ones that Vivekananda will later echo in evenmore secularized form:

Is the word of God a book? No. It is spoken, not written ... Godspeaks to every one of us, and we hear his thrilling voice in the soul...[Scriptures] are only instructive narratives of what the Lord said anddid in the lives of prophets and saints ... To each man, saint or sinner,the Holy Spirit speaks directly as the In-dwelling Teacher. (Ibid.: 208-9)

In the 1875 lecture this is still a matter of "spiritual perception":

Seeing and hearing, these are my testimonies. The eye and the ear aremy witnesses; I mean the eye and ear of the soul ... Our ideas of theDivinity are not abstract and intellectual, but are based upon directand intuitive knowledge. Our faith in God is not so much a conceptionas a spiritual perception. We see him as a present Reality, a livingPerson, with the mind's eye. (Ibid.: 204-5)

By 1880, however, as the approaching occultization of esotericismbrings the "clashing worldviews" of science and traditional belief

9. Similar ideas are already found in Sen's thought as early as 1859 (see Sen 1938: 21-2,62-5).

10. Cf. the future Vivekananda's anxious questioning of his peers and teachers in the sameway, as he himself relates (CW4: 179).

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into an uncomfortable partnership, the difference between 'natural'and 'spiritual' vision is starting to become blurred. The seeminglySpencerian arguments that Sen musters are highly reminiscent of howVivekananda will defend his theories a quarter of a century later."Between God-vision and the spirit of science in the nineteenthcentury, there is no discord, but rather concord. The scientists of thepresent ardently love unity", Sen (ibid.: 405) affirms. And while all"physical, mental, and moral energies are traceable to one primitiveforce" which "all scientific men ... are seeking" (ibid.: 407, 408), theanswer is already known to some: "This mysterious primary force,underlying all secondary forces," Sen tells us, "I unhesitatingly callGod-force" (ibid.: 409).

To this, as it were, energetic Neo-panentheism, Sen adds roman-tically charged deistic and vitalistic images,11 and these are said togrant us revelatory visions: "vision[s] in which we directly realizeGod-force" (ibid.: 414, emphasis added). As Vivekananda will alsoteach later, science was starting to confirm religion, to make itaccessible: "in these days science has killed the distance - in thephysical world by steam and electricity, and in the spiritual world byintrospection and immediate vision" (ibid.: 416). Thus the "longladder" that led to "God's sanctuary in days gone by" has all butdisappeared: "Instead of many steps there is but one step from earthto heaven. One step from mind and matter to God; one step nowfrom the muscles and the nerves, from the eye and the ear to God"(ibid.: 417).

"God's sanctuary", under the circumstances, is made not onlymore readily, but also more widely available: "To every humblebeliever, to every man and woman who believes in the Living God,He reveals Himself in these days" (ibid.: 431). This is "the domain ofa new dispensation, that of faith and science harmonized" (ibid.:439), or also "the philosophy of God-vision in modern times. It is avision in which Divinity and heaven are realized together" (ibid.: 426,emphasis added).

As we progress towards the end of the century, the language of'realization' gets closer to what will eventually become standardexpressions. Yoga is by now routinely regarded as a practice to be

11. The universe as a clock, the root nourishing the tree, the mother suckling the littleinfant (Sen 1901: 412-15).

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taken up by all, rather than as a subject of purely scholarly interest orspecialist religious endeavour.

We should, of course, remember that, from 1875 onward, theTheosophical Society was very active in popularizing these ideas(Bevir 1994). After it relocated to India (1878), it also started to playan important role in the cultural life of the subcontinent. We shallonly mention one example here, directly relevant to the populariza-tion of 'spiritual realization' terminology. In his exposition of Raja-Yoga (1890) the Indian Theosophist Manilal N. Dvivedi12 explainsthat the Vedanta is dedicated to "explaining the nature of Brahmaand the method of realising it" (Dvivedi 1890, Part I: 50). VariousVedantic doctrines, he continues, concur in "declaring moksa toconsist in the realization of the unity of Brahma and Jiva" (ibid.). Inhis textual commentary he also explains that it is the ultimate, eternal"Atman ... which is the thing to be understood and realised" (ibid.,Part II: 2). The ultimate aim of yoga, he concludes, is "realising theAbsolute" (ibid., Part II: 40, 41).13

Ramakrishna and his interpreters: the elaboration of asampradaya

At this point we return to the question of Ramakrishna's teachings:are they really the same as those propagated by Vivekananda and bythe Ramakrishna movement? We shall single out the /Vwwtf/realiza-tion discussion in order to attempt an answer.

As previously mentioned, a number of good critical works dis-cussing Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, their relations and their entou-rage have initiated a more realistic appraisal of both men, and of theirhistorical and hermeneutic situation after decades of glorification andmythicization.14 We rely on these sources for our discussion. InChapter 3 we argued that the circumstances of Vivekananda'sinitiation were highly unorthodox, and also that he was much more amodern tormented seeker than a self-possessed 'natural' renouncer. Acomparison of his and Ramakrishna's, position with regard to jhdnal

12. Also a delegate (representing Hinduism) at the 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions(Chowdhury-Sengupta 1998: 24-5; Sil 1997: 159).

13. Also this neologism, "realising the Absolute", will eventually be adopted in Neo-Vedantic and New Age discourses.

14. See notes 38 and 40, Chapter 1 and note 3, Chapter 3.

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realization casts doubts on the reconcilability of their teachings. Weknow that Vivekananda prioritizes (his interpretations of) Advaiticatma- and brahmajhana as ultimate Vedantic aims, and that he the-orizes that these liberation-granting experiences can only, or at leastoptimally, be achieved through a samadhi attained by way ofrajayoga. We also know from his own and others' reports, that hehimself struggled for most of his life to achieve such states, which heseems to have attained, if at all, only on rare occasions.

Biographical accounts of Ramakrishna, on the other hand, arereplete with well-documented reports of recurrent samadhi experi-ences. These came to him so naturally and frequently, indeed, that hehad to learn to control and contain them by way of orthopracticalknowledge gathered from at least two different teachers (a femaletantric ascetic called Bhairavl BrahmanI and the Advaita sannydsinTotapuri). But apart from experiencing these states, how did heactually evaluate them from the point of view of religious doctrine?Neevel throws some useful light on this question:

We wish to clarify Ramakrishna's position in its relation to Sankara'skevalddvaita ("absolute non-dualism") and its path of jndna. Thisissue is a confused one because Ramakrishna often talks as if heaccepted kevalddvaita, and his disciples have emphasized his seemingacceptance. The key to understanding Ramakrishna's formal accep-tance of kevalddvaita is to note that this acceptance is given under verystrict conditions. Ramakrishna sees two "realms" or frames of refer-ence in which kevalddvaita and jndna yoga are valid - realms which inboth cases are totally removed from the state of man as he now existsin the world.

The first theoretical context in which Ramakrishna recognized thevalidity of kevalddvaita was the purer age or yuga that existed long agobefore the world degenerated to the present corrupt Kali yuga. (1976:87)

We shall soon see that Vivekananda contradicts this tenet in histeachings. But the second theoretical context has more interestingimplications from the point of view of our discussion. Here, Neevelexplains, Ramakrishna felt that

the teaching that "Brahman alone is real and the world is illusory; Ihave no separate existence; I am that Brahman alone" is relevant only

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in and for the moment when one is merged in nirvikalpa... Only in this state is it valid for one to view the world as illusion;only in this state is it valid for one to feel that he is Brahman. As soonas the jfiani returns to a level of normal consciousness, as soon as hehas enough sense of individuality or "body-consciousness" to utter theword "I" so that he can say aloud "I am Brahman," what he says is nolonger true and valid. It is as a matter of fact dangerous for the jnaniand for those who listen to him (Ibid.: 88)

Ramakrishna himself stated this position in no uncertain terms:

"I am He" - this is not a wholesome attitude. If anyone attains thisidea before he has overcome the consciousness of the physical self,great harm comes to him, his progress is retarded and by and by he isdragged down. He deceives others and deceives himself as well, in utterignorance of his woeful plight. (Ibid.: 89)16

Coherently with the above position, Ramakrishna was adamant insustaining that Advaita was not a suitable teaching for householders(i.e. non-renunciates) and for those who "identify themselves with thebody". These individuals should rather cultivate a bhakti-likereligiosity:

. . .for those who lead a householder's life, and those who identifythemselves with the body,[17] this attitude of "I am He" is not good. Itis not good for householders to read Vedanta or the Yogavasishtha. Itis very harmful for them to read these books. Householders shouldlook on God as their Master and on themselves as His servants. Theyshould think, "O God, You are the master and Lord, and I am yourservant." People who identify themselves with the body should nothave the attitude of "I am He". (Gupta 1984 [1942]: 593)

15. Nirvikalpa samadhi indicates the highest stage of samadhi in Vedantic terminology, i.e.when it occurs "without distinct and separate consciousness of the knower, theknowable and the process of knowing" (Aranya 1983: 465).

16. Neevel (1976: 59) quotes this from Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna (According to M., ason of the Lord and disciple) or The Ideal Man for India and for the World, Part II(Madras, The Brahmavadin Office, 1907 [1897]), pp. 70-2).

17. This important point is rarely emphasized in the relevant literature, which tends insteadto focus on the (usually exclusively male) householder/renouncer polarity: the categoryof those who "identify themselves with the body" is a much more comprehensive onethan that of "householders". It may well include women, unmarried males of all ages,and those (struggling, failed or possibly 'part-time') renouncers who fit the description.

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This, however, is in stark contradiction with Vivekananda's (andBrahmo) teachings, propounding that everyone should seek samddhi-based atma- and brahmajndna, and that enlightenment and liberation(moksa) are theirs by birthright. Talking about samadhi in the con-text of his rajayoga teachings, Vivekananda says:

All the different steps in Yoga are intended to bring us scientifically tothe superconscious state, or Samadhi. Furthermore, this is a most vitalpoint to understand, that inspiration is as much in every man's natureas it was in that of the ancient prophets. These prophets were notunique, they were men as you or I; they were great Yogis. They hadgained this superconsciousness, and you and I can get the same. Theywere not peculiar people. The very fact that one man ever reached thatstate, proves that it is possible for every man to do so. Not only is itpossible, but every man must, eventually, get to that state, and that isreligion. Experience is the only teacher we have. (CW 1: 185)

And regarding the universality and 'naturalness' of this experience theSwami further states:

The [religious] teachers all saw God; they all saw their own souls ...and what they saw they preached. Only there is this difference, that bymost of these religions, especially in modern times, a peculiar claim ismade, namely, that these experiences are impossible at the present day;they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders ofthe religions that subsequently bore their names. At the present timethese experiences have become obsolete, and, therefore, we have nowto take religion on belief. This I entirely deny. If there has been oneexperience in this world in any particular branch of knowledge, itabsolutely follows that that experience has been possible millions oftimes before, and will be repeated eternally. Uniformity is the rigorouslaw of nature, what once happened can always happen. (Ibid.: 126-7)

As we notice, this passage contradicts both conditions set byRamakrishna for the acceptability of Advaita: the Kali Yuga variantand the 'overcomer/body-identified' variant. Vivekananda's renditionof yoga, as we shall see in more detail in the next chapter, alsothoroughly naturalizes and secularizes this discipline. Here yogabecomes a science based on 'natural laws', or a 'spiritual technology'for attaining samadhi. Perhaps unsurprisingly under such circum-stances Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (or, more precisely, Patafijali'sastdngayoga) are perceived as a sort of DIY manual of practice. As

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Vivekananda affirms, "The science of Raj a-Yoga proposes to putbefore humanity a practical and scientifically worked out method ofreaching this truth" (CW 1: 128).

With time, these transformed semantic and contextual meaningswere grafted onto the existing /^mz/realization terminology, eventuallygaining widespread acceptance. Popularization was also achievedthrough the ongoing production of publications and other activities ofthe Ramakrishna movement. Among the more influential texts we mayquote the English translations of Gupta's Kathdmrta (1978; 1984) andVivekananda's Collected Works, but many more tracts have beenproduced over the years in which this terminology abounds.

There are also, however, interesting differences of emphasis withinthe Ramakrishna movement itself, and these are reflected in the jndnalrealization language used in these texts. The first important differenceis that, overall, the two translations of Ramakrishna's sayings (Gupta1978 [1907]; 1984 [1942]) insist more on "God-realization" than on"Self-realization" if compared with Vivekananda.18 Secondly, Gupta'stranslation is closer to the spirit of the Bengali (and hence ofRamakrishna), while Nikhilananda's version makes many more con-cessions to the teachings of the Ramakrishna movement (as opposedto Ramakrishna himself).19 And of course Vivekananda's teachings, aswe saw, contradict Ramakrishna's on some important counts.

Gupta, Vivekananda and Nikhilananda all, however, similarlytranslate (or use) the "realization" terminology by way of over-lapping terms or synonyms (it is difficult to decide which). An in-depth analysis of some central texts20 shows that the most commoninclude:

For brahmajndna:knowing, attaining or "realizing" —>

God, Brahman, the Absolute, Knowledge, God the Absolute, InfiniteBeing, Supreme Being, Universal Soul

18. Jackson's comparison of the movement's teachings as expressed in 1904 and in 1950(1994: 68-9) could, however, be interpreted to suggest a noticeable, if not drastic, shifttowards a "Self-realization" emphasis. This could partly be explained by the fact thatJackson studies the American (rather than the Indian) situation. Generally speaking, itwould be interesting to see what a more in-depth analysis of Ramakrishna movementliterature (English and Indian) would show in this respect.

19. For a critique of existing translations see Kripal (1995) and Sil (1997: 12).20. Gupta (1978; 1984) and Vivekananda's Collected Works.

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For dtmajndna:knowing, attaining or "realizing" —>the soul, the Self, the Higher Self

The same cluster of words and meanings also became an integral partof New Age religion from early on, thanks to the ideological overlapbetween New Age religion and Neo-Vedantic occultism during theirformative phases (end of the nineteenth century/beginning of thetwentieth). This semantic cluster has therefore become commoncurrency throughout the English-speaking world, at least in circlesreceptive to esoteric and occultistic discourses.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, we also find a similardynamis and/or tension between the two expressions "God-" and"Self-realization" in New Age contexts. An emphasis on the "God-realization" theme usually indicates a (relatively) more conservativeunderstanding of theological and religious questions. Conversely, aninsistence on "Self-realization" tends to indicate more radicallyesoterico-occultistic, and hence secularized, interpretations of reli-gious traditions.

Following what has been said above it may be difficult for us tobelieve that Ramakrishna's teachings were as "spiritualistically"oriented as Vivekananda makes them out to be: "This is the messageof Shri Ramakrishna to the modern world", the Swami tells us,

"Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects, orchurches, or temples; they count for little if compared with the essenceof existence in each man, which is spirituality ... Show by your livesthat religion does not mean words, or names, or sects, but that it meansspiritual realisation..."

... my Master's message to mankind is: "Be spiritual and realisetruth for yourself" ... The time has come for renunciation, for rea-lisation; and then you will see the harmony in all the religions of theworld... (CW4: 187)

The above summary would be a much more fitting tribute (in allsenses) to Keshubchandra Sen than to Ramakrishna. The Bengali holyman should instead be seen as an example of the non-individualistic'true mystic5: steeped and in some way also lost within his owntradition, but at the same time supported by it. Sen and Vivekananda,on the other hand, are perfect representatives of Neo-Vedantic

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esotericism: they had to grapple with the spirit in a thoroughlysecularized world, and they were forced to seek the metaphysicalwithin because the metaphysical without had dissolved from theextended social culture.

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PART II

Modern Yoga Theory andPractice

The traditional orientation of society and of religion was the afterlife, but there is abasic incongruity between consumer society and afterlife concerns ... Consumersociety demands the rejection of the 'culture of postponement' ... Instead, theremust be immediate access to direct experience, for which neither socialization norlearning are really necessary. ... It is wholly characteristic for new religiousmovements to facilitate mobility, quicker ways to the spiritual top, that cut throughthe encrustations of ritual, institutionalization, intellectualism, and the wholeapparatus of scholarship that religions tend to accrete. Thus the instancy and theurgency are not in themselves new, but their combination with intense subjectivism,rejection of the culture, and the preoccupation with the self is new.

(Wilson 1979: 100-1)


5. Vivekananda's Raja Yoga(1896): Modern Yogaformulated

... out of bewildering Yogi-ism must come the most scientific and practicalpsychology.

(Swami Vivekananda CW 5: 104-5)

Chapter 4 should have made it clear that the concept of "realization"is the keystone of Neo-Vedanta's orthodoxy. Modern Yoga, on theother hand, and more specifically rajayoga as defined by Viveka-nanda, is the keystone of its orthopraxis. "Realization" is in factstated to be eminently personal and experiential. Once the relativelysimple tenets of Neo-Vedantic orthodoxy have been assimilated andaccepted, therefore, orthopraxis becomes all-important. We shallnow examine how these elements of theory and practice are devel-oped in Vivekananda's Raja Yoga.

Raja Yoga: style, structure and overall contents

Raja Yoga (see Figure 10) is divided into two parts. Part I is a recordof talks delivered by Vivekananda in New York during the Winter of1895-96 and stenographed by Mr J. J. Goodwin. It is not clearwhether Part II, described by Vivekananda himself as "a rather freetranslation of the aphorisms (Sutras) of Patanjali, with a running

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commentary" (CW 1: 122) was also originally delivered as a series oftalks. The style of the text suggests that this is probably the case.1 Weknow, however, that the whole of Raja Yoga was reworked byVivekananda himself before publication (CW 8: 373).

We must remember that Vivekananda's success at the Parliamentof Religions turned him overnight into a major authority on Indianreligions and into an ideological leader. As in the case of the mis-sionary work he was to elect as his own - to preach Indian spiritualknowledge to the West - keeping up these roles meant deliveringnumerous public addresses. Not the thorough scholar at the best oftimes, and now doubtlessly under constant pressure to deliver talksand lectures, he mainly delivered these impromptu and with littlepreparation.2 Therefore his style (in Raja Yoga as elsewhere) is veryuneven and in turn discursive or expository, conversational ordeclamatory.

Despite such shortcomings Raja Yoga, as we saw, became verypopular. The book is still kept in print by the Ramakrishna move-ment, and is profusely available in both cheaper and more expensiveeditions. Its message was what many in cultic milieus worldwide hadbeen waiting for: a flexible set of teachings that would meet theircraving for exotic but nevertheless accessible and ideologicallyfamiliar forms of practical spirituality.

Essentially, this book represents Vivekananda's attempt to under-stand and interpret the Classical Yoga of Patafijali and a selection ofhathayoga teachings on the basis of the beliefs that he shared with hiscultic milieu followers. The fact that his beliefs were remarkablyeclectic made Vivekananda's task difficult: he brought to bear on hisyoga elaborations very different systems of thought: from traditionalHindu lore to elements of Western science (mainly physics, psy-chology, anatomy and physiology); from modern philosophy

1. There are in fact several passages containing direct forms of address such as: "Forinstance, most of you ladies play the piano ..." (ibid.: 240).

2. See his own description of his lecturing method and his comments on writing (CW 6:293):

As for lectures and so forth, I don't prepare them beforehand. Only one I wrote out,which you have printed. The rest I deliver off-hand, whatever comes to my lips -Gurudeva [i.e. Ramakrishna] backs me up. I have nothing to do with pen and paper... They ask me here to write a book. Well, I think I must do something that way, thistime. But that's the botheration; who will take the trouble of putting things in blackand white and all that!

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5. VIVEKANANDA'S RAJA YOGA (1896): MODERN YOGA FORMULATED

(especially empiricism and idealism, but with no precise reference oradherence to any school or thinker) to the Neo-Vedantic esotericismof the Brahmo Samaj and Western occultism (especially influencesfrom American Harmonial Religion, including mesmerism andMetaphysical beliefs). The result is a rather impressionistic andsometimes disjointed mixture of ideas. However, a number of generalpatterns emerge if one studies the text carefully, gathering isolatedstatements and recomposing them under common headings.

Vivekananda's reinterpretation of yoga (i.e. Modern Yoga) ispredominantly based on the most practice-oriented section of theYoga Sutras, the so-called astdngayoga.3 Part I of Raja Yoga is anexposition of astdngayoga itself, and while Part II treats the whole ofthe Yoga Sutras, Vivekananda's core interpretation of yoga is stillbased on astdngayoga.

Following the canonical division of astdngayoga into bahirangaand antaranga sections,4 Vivekananda's teachings may be dividedinto what we shall call the Prdna Model and the Samddhi Model, andwhile these two models overlap and interact to some extent, they willbe examined separately for heuristic purposes. The first one, moreprominently expounded in Part I, draws more heavily fromhathayogic teachings, proposes a cosmology in which prdna (asunderstood by Vivekananda) plays a central part, describes soter-iological aims and methods in terms of power and control over 'gross'and 'subtle', 'internal' and 'external' aspects of the cosmos, andpredicates the achievement of freedom or liberation by way of an'accumulation' or 'concentration' of prdna, which will speed up theadepts on their evolutionary path towards the ultimate goal. Vive-kananda's interpretation of these teachings is heavily influenced bythe mesmeric beliefs popular in North American milieus at the time.

In Part II of Raja Yoga, on the other hand, the Samddhi Model ismore prominent: 'mind' plays a central role, and the influence ofMetaphysical ideas and Functionalist psychology is strong. HereVivekananda construes yoga in terms of the mind undertaking a

3. "The yoga of the eight limbs" (YS II. 28 to III. 8), comprising yama ("restraints"),niyama ("observances"), asana (yogic "posture"), pranayama ("regulation of breath"),pratyahdra ("sense withdrawal"), dhararia ("concentration"), dhyana ("meditation"),samadhi ("enstasy").

4. Respectively "external limbs" (the first five; see YS II. 28-55) and "internal limbs" (thelast three; see YS III. 1-8).

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Figure 10 Frontispiece of the first edition of Swami Vivekananda's Raja Yoga. From Vivekananda, S. (1896) RajaYoga: Conquering the Internal Nature. Longmans, Green and Co., London, New York and Bombay. (By permission ofthe Syndics of Cambridge University Library)


proprioceptive5 journey back to "the source of intelligence" throughvarious levels of meditative practice. Each individual mind is part ofthe "universal mind", he postulates, and by accessing higher or"superconscious" states (samddhi) each of us can tap into theomniscience of the universal mind and attain ultimate gnosis. Thishas profound transformative effects on the adept, eventually bringingto the fore his or her forgotten almighty, omniscient, and divinenature.

Apart from the two models just described, we also find thatVivekananda occasionally shifts to a third mode of thought, whichwe shall call Neo-Advaitic. While both Prdna and Samddhi Modelsare 'weak this-worldly' in orientation,6 the Neo-Advaitic mode isradically otherworldly. According to it, only when all powers andattainments are left behind (a renunciation on which Vivekanandainsists repeatedly but with minimum elaboration), only then will theadept be able to reach an altogether transcendent state. This corre-sponds to the last stage of samddhi and leads to realization of anadvaitic state of total identification with purusa, "the only 'simple'that exists in this universe" (CW 1: 287) or the "One existing asmany" (ibid.: 133).

In schematic form, these are the ways in which Vivekananda pre-sents astdngayoga in his Raja Yoga. These teachings still form theconceptual foundations of Modern Yoga, even though they have beendeveloped in a number of different ways and directions from thebeginning of the twentieth century onward.

An emanationist cosmology

As Vivekananda was attempting to formulate teachings suitable toWestern cultic milieus, Sdmkhya-Yoga's emanationist philosophy

5. Proprioception, a term usually applied to somatic experience, refers to "The extractionand use of information about ... one's own body." It "concerns stimuli arising within,and carrying information about, one's own body" (Honderich 1995: 652). Due to thepervasive materialistic assumptions of Modern Yoga (about which see below), I willemploy it also to describe psychological experience.

6. 'Weak this-worldly' may mean "either a better 'this-world' located on our earth, or suchan existence located in 'higher' realms. Most typical of the last variety is the view that,although this world is not perfect, it is to be valued positively as a means for reaching thehigher realities beyond" (Hanegraaff 1996: 116).

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must have seemed highly compatible with the Neoplatonic thoughtcurrents underlying much Western esotericism and occultism. Themore practical prescriptions of Classical Yoga also represented anattractive feature. That Vivekananda would adopt these teachings forhis revivalistic elaborations makes perfect sense. As other occultsciences such as alchemy, astrology and magic were being revived andtransformed under the secularizing influence of nineteenth-centuryideas, so too was yoga. While Vivekananda played a major role inthis process, he also capitalized on the interest in Indian religionsgenerated by the academic study of religion and, even more so, by thepopularization of Oriental ideas carried out by occultist groups suchas the Theosophical Society.

In Raja Yoga all three soteriological Models (Prdna, Samddhi andNeo-Advaitic) outlined above are developed (albeit not in full and notalways coherently) against a common emanationist background. AsVivekananda affirms, "we are the outcome and manifestation of anabsolute condition, back of our present relative condition, and aregoing forward, to return to that absolute" (ibid.: 195). The cosmicdynamis consists of "only going out to a distance, and coming backto the centre from which [we] started" (ibid.: 196). Vivekanandafurther explains that the unmanifested state is higher than the man-ifested, a view that, he suggests, is held by all religions in the world:"The idea is that [man's] beginning is perfect and pure, that hedegenerates until he cannot degenerate further, and that there mustcome a time when he shoots upwards again to complete the circle"(ibid.: 197). Indeed, our author insists, "What is commonly called lifeis but an embryo state" (ibid.: 199), thus "the sooner we get out ofthis state we call 'man' the better for us" (ibid.: 198). This is becauseour true nature is divine or Godly: "man is God, and goes back toHim again" (ibid.: 197), or again, "Each soul is potentially divine.The goal is to manifest this Divinity within ..." (ibid.: 257).

Raja Yoga follows Sdmkhya-Yoga cosmology in postulating anoriginal duality of purusa and prakrti. A sentient but actionlesspurusa causes by his mysterious influence the manifestation of all theforms implicit in prakrti, the dynamic and creative matrix of allmanifestation. Beyond this point, however, Raja Yoga's cosmologybecomes quite different from the Sdmkhya-Yoga one. The latter iswell known7 and will only be briefly summarized here: Sdmkhya-

7. A good summary is found in Michael (1980: 29-47).

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Yoga postulates the existence of three gunas (literally "threads",meaning primordial qualities) as composing prakrti. It is the perfectequilibrium of these that the purusa disturbs by way of its mysteriousinfluence, thereby initiating a cycle of manifestation. Different com-binations of these three gunas are found throughout the resultingemanational chain, consisting of a series of 23 further tattvas("thatnesses", the basic categories or fundamentals composing thecosmos) as emanates of prakrti.8 These are hierarchically arrangedalong several different cosmological levels and gunic lines of mani-festation.9 Differently from what Vivekananda proposes, this is astatic cosmological model based on correspondences, with symbolicand analogic relations linking the various levels of manifestation. It isa logical construct rather than a historical or evolutionary one. It isnot progressive, but eternally self-repeating, cyclically reproducingthe same pattern through alternating phases of manifestation oremanation (srsti) and reabsorption or dissolution (pralaya).

Three gunas vs. two evolutes

But instead of a static cosmos formed by the interplay of the threegunas, what we find in Raja Yoga is an evolutionary cosmos based onthe interplay of prdna and akasa.10 These two are stated to be thevery first emanates of prakrti (CW 1: 147), and this couple, ratherthan the gunic triad inherent in prakrti, is said to compose thedynamis through which all further manifestation comes into being:

By what power is this Akasha manufactured into this universe? By thepower of Prana ... [At the beginning of each cycle of manifestation]out of this Prana is evolved everything that we call energy ... [or]force. It is the Prana that is manifesting as motion; it is the Prana that ismanifesting as gravitation, as magnetism ... as the actions of the body,as the nerve currents, as thought force ... The sum total of all theforces in the universe, mental or physical, when resolved back to theiroriginal state, is called Prana. (Ibid.: 147-8)

8. Purusa and prakrti bring the total number up to 25.9. The number of these varies depending on the type of analysis used. Standard subdivi-

sions are in series of four or seven.10. Because the gunas play such a prominent part in the Yoga Sutras (and in Hindu phi-

losophy and religion at large), it would have been difficult for Vivekananda not tomention them at all. So they are mentioned on occasion (i.e. in the sections where hediscusses YS I. 16, II. 19, 52), but they are not made to play a significant role incosmological or soteriological terms.

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At the end of a cycle the energies now displayed in the universe quietdown and become potential. At the beginning of the next cycle theystart up, strike upon the Akasha, and out of the Akasha evolve thesevarious forms, and as the Akasha changes, this Prana changes also intoall these manifestations of energy. (Ibid.: 148)

According to Raja Yoga, all of the tattvas developing from prakrti arecomposed of dkasa: "With the exception of the Purusha all of theseare material... between the intellect [buddhi] and the grosser matteroutside [mahabhutas] there is only a difference in degree" (ibid.: 135;see also ibid.: 147).

Prana and dkasa are thus postulated to produce the whole of themanifested universe by way of their interaction. The whole cosmosremains, however, a unified, if stratified, "ocean of energy" and of"matter" (ibid.: 149, 151, 156, 159, 256). The only differencebetween various forms and components of the cosmos is their state(or rate) of vibration: the closer to their ultimate prakrti source, thefiner the vibration; the further away, the grosser:

Think of the universe as an ocean of ether, consisting of layer afterlayer of varying degrees of vibration under the action of Prana; awayfrom the centre the vibrations are less, nearer to it they becomequicker and quicker; one order of vibration makes one plane. (Ibid.:158)

Vivekananda's Naturphilosophie

One may wonder at this stage why Vivekananda places dkasa andprdna in such prominent positions when they are not at all central inthe classical Sdmkhya scheme: in the latter, dkdsa, far from being thefirst evolute of prakrti, is one of the last, while prdna is not even oneof the 25 tattvas.11 The answer lies in the fact that the Swami waselaborating his own Sdmkhya-Yoga-based Naturphilosophie.

As we saw, Sen's proto Modern Yoga was already fully esotericizedbut only vaguely 'scientific'. His references to 'science' were usedmore for literary effect than for logical argumentation. Vivekananda,on the other hand, brings in 'scientific' elements much more vocallyand visibly, although hardly more coherently. This is clearly seen

11. Prana is, however, mentioned in the Sdmkhya Karika (XXIX) as "breath".

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when we examine some of the implications of his 'prdna and dkdsa'theme. The way he conceptualizes these terms is as follows:

Prdna Akdsa

in the Prdna Model energy matterforce existencepower ether12

in the Samddhi Model thought mind13

The top line of translations shows that Vivekananda was trying tomatch Sdmkhya-Yoga cosmology with the cosmology of con-temporary physics, the latter being concerned with "matter andenergy with the aim of describing phenomena in terms of funda-mental laws" (Walker 1997: 826). In Raja Yoga, our author tries toapply this basic approach to Sdmkhya-Yoga cosmology by focusingon prdna and dkdsa and translating them (linguistically and, in ten-tative fashion, conceptually) as "energy" and "matter" respectively,and by affirming that they interact on the basis of recurring andknowable "natural laws". This, however, is as scientific as the modelgets. For the rest, Vivekananda's Modern Yoga constructs are thor-oughly esoteric, hence his theories soon become Naturphilosophierather than 'science'. His universal laws of "mechanical causality",for example, rather than obeying the laws of Newtonian physics,operate along the lines of more arcane correspondences betweenmicrocosm and macrocosm. Human beings, furthermore, can andshould learn to control these laws in order to use them for their own'progressive' purposes:

According to the Raj a-Yogi, the external world is but the gross form ofthe internal, or subtle. The finer is always the cause, the grosser theeffect. So the external world is the effect, the internal the cause ... Theman who has discovered and learnt how to manipulate the internalforces will get the whole of nature under his control. The Yogi pro-poses to himself no less a task than to master the whole universe, tocontrol the whole of nature ... He will be master of the whole ofnature, internal and external. The progress and civilisation of thehuman race simply mean controlling this nature. (CW 1: 132-33)

12. Pram synonyms, respectively: CW 1: 147, 148, 146; dkdsa synonyms, respectively:ibid.: 210, 147, 151.

13. Ibid.-. 150, 210 (thought), and ibid.: 151, 210 (mind).

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In a philosophical sense, this goes back to the Enlightenment'naturalization' of man and of the cosmos. Gellner (1993: llff.)explains how in pre-industrial, pre-scientific Western civilizations,there was a tendency to view the human being as "half-angel, half-beast", a vision that created much anguish in individuals because ofthe tensions implicit in such polarity. But the same vision, Gellnercontinues,

also provided an idiom and an explanation for all the forces withinman which were opposed to the higher and purer elements. Howevermuch the Lower Aspects of our nature might have been reprobated,their very existence was not denied...

However, with the coming of modernity, the total dualistic picture,of which divided man was a part, lost its authority. The twin currentsof empiricism and materialism destroyed it, and replaced it with aunitary vision both of nature and of man. Henceforth, nature was to beone single system, subject to invariant and neutral laws, and no longera stratified system whose ranked levels in nature, society and man wereto symbolize and underwrite our values. If materialism/mechanism is agreat leveller and unifier, so is empiricism: at its root is the idea that allthings are known in basically the same way, and nothing can have astanding greater than the evidence for its existence, and evidence isassembled and evaluated by men. Thus, obliquely, through thesovereignty of public evidence, all authority, sacredness, absolutenessare gradually eliminated from the world. (Ibid.: 12-13)

Vivekananda, like many other occultists, tries to avoid the bleaknessof this picture and at the same time to salvage the "natural laws" ofthe Enlightenment with their materialist and empiricist principles."There is no supernatural," he affirms, "but there are in nature grossmanifestations and subtle manifestations" (CW 1: 122). As forempiricism, he assures us that the "one universal and adamantinefoundation of all our knowledge [is] direct experience" (ibid.: 126).14

The centrality of experiential epistemology in religious as in othermatters is continuously reiterated not only in Raja Yogtf, butthroughout Vivekananda's literary corpus, and is directly linked, aswe saw in Chapter 4, to his understanding of "Self-realization".

In Vivekananda's more extreme moments, all of the cosmos is'naturalized', and the result is a stark dualism of 'spirit' and 'matter'

14. See also the opening sentence of Raja Yoga: "All our knowledge is based on experi-ence" (ibid.: 125).

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with nothing in between, 'soul' or 'psyche' having been compoundedeither into matter (in both Prana and Samddhi Models, but through asort of 'materialistic panpsychism' in the latter) or into 'spirit' (in theNeo-Advaitic theme). In one particular case, however, this natur-alization/materialization becomes so pervasive that it is carriedthrough to the 'spiritual' plane itself, as the following quotationdemonstrates:

Every form in this world is taken out of the surrounding atoms andgoes back to these atoms. It cannot be that the same law acts differ-ently in different places. Law is uniform. Nothing is more certain thanthat. If this is the law of nature, it also applies to thought. Thought willdissolve and go back to its origin. Whether we will it or not, we shallhave to return to our origin, which is called God or Absolute. We allcame from God, and we are all bound to go back to God. Call that byany name you like, God, Absolute or Nature, the fact remains thesame, (ibid.: 196-7)

Here 'God', the 'Absolute' and 'Nature' are seen as equivalent:Vivekananda's affirmations, carried through to their logical conclu-sions, must also imply that "God" and the "Absolute" are made of"atoms". This, however, is an extreme example of philosophicalmaterialism, and not representative of Raja Yoga as a whole.

Starting from such a 'disenchanted' platform, Vivekananda goes onto reinterpret and fill out Sen's proto Modern Yoga scheme byassimilating a number of powerful esoteric motifs, as we shall pre-sently see in our discussion of the Prana and Samddhi Models. Notsurprisingly, the results of mixing the cosmological approaches dis-cussed above with these traditional themes is a typically occultistic"syncretism between esotericism and science, correspondences andcausality" (Chapter 1).

The Prana Model

In Part I of Raja Yoga we read that "wherever any sect or body ofpeople is trying to search out anything occult and mystical, or hidden,what they are doing is really this Yoga, [i.e. an] attempt to control thePrana" (ibid.: 159). Contrary to Vivekananda's intention, this pas-sage is more revealing of his own beliefs than explanatory of what

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"occult" and "mystical" schools were actually doing. Obviously ourauthor identified with these groups and their practices even though hebelieved that they only held a partial truth. Faith healers, he states forexample, use a kind of pratyahdra15 to train their patients to "denymisery and pain and evil" (ibid.: 171). Both faith healers and hyp-notists, he asserts, make use of this technique, but it is wrong forthem to do so as such practices should always be self-directed and notimposed by others, as in the latter case they can be dangerous (ibid.:172). Our author nevertheless places faith healers at the top of ahierarchy of medical practitioners, which also includes homoeopaths(in middle position) and allopaths (at the bottom; ibid.: 154-5). Wefurther read that there are

sects in every country who [sic] have attempted this control of Prana.In this country [USA] there are Mind-healers, Faith-healers, Spir-itualists, Christian Scientists, Hypnotists, etc., and if we examine thesedifferent bodies, we shall find at the back of each this control of thePrana, whether they know it or not ... It is the one and the same forcethey are manipulating, only unknowingly ... it is the same [force] asthe Yogi uses, and which comes from Prana. (ibid.: 149-50)

Vivekananda even recommends some of these techniques himself:"Always use a mental effort, what is usually called 'Christian Sci-ence', to keep the body strong" (ibid.: 139), he instructs, and: "Tellyour body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong" (ibid.:146). He also describes mesmeric practices affirming that there is noreason that they should not work (ibid.: 153-4), and concludes thatalso spiritualism is "a manifestation of Pranayama" (ibid.: 157).

Prana as vitalistic element

It is obvious from these and other passages that both Vivekanandaand his audiences were deeply engaged in forms of alternative med-icine, in healing and in related occultistic concerns. As we saw inChapter 3, various forms of Harmonialism, Metaphysical belief andmesmeric practice were widespread in the USA at the time. Theseideas surely played a part in inspiring Vivekananda to select theSanskritic concept of prdna to perform the same function. Hellen-berger summarizes the four basic principles of mesmerism or, more

15. "Gathering towards oneself", sense withdrawal; the fifth limb of astangayoga.

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precisely, of the healing system based on "animal magnetism" asfollows:

(1) A subtle physical fluid fills the universe and forms a connectingmedium between man, the earth, and the heavenly bodies, and alsobetween man and man. (2) Disease originates from the unequal dis-tribution of this fluid in the human body; recovery is achieved when theequilibrium is restored. (3) With the help of certain techniques, thisfluid can be channeled, stored, and conveyed to other persons. (4) Inthis manner, "crises" can be provoked in patients and diseases cured.(Quoted in Hanegraaff 1996: 430-1)

Due to the fact that Vivekananda reinterprets astdngayoga, andespecially so prdndydma, in the light of mesmeric theories, we finddirect links to these tenets in Raja Yoga. After what has been saidabout his evaluation of Harmonial beliefs this is hardly surprising.Vivekananda's mesmeric adaptations of yoga are, however, particu-larly important in the context of the present discussion as they haveremained foundational in Modern Yoga speculations, especially so inthe case of more somatically oriented types of practice. Let usexamine how the four basic principles of mesmerism quoted aboveare applied in Raja Yoga.

Vivekananda's interpretation of prana, or rather of the "omni-present, all-penetrating" (CW 1: 147) dyadic combination of prdnaand dkdsa, mirrors his naturphilosophisch attempt to represent theconcept of the mesmeric fluid in the 'scientific' terms of the physicalsciences, and to prove at the same time that such knowledge hadalready been attained in ancient India. His insistence that "[t]hewhole universe is a combination of Prana and Akasha" (ibid.: 223)16

is revealing in this context both of his mesmeric convictions and ofthe materialistic ways in which he interpreted them. His view of theprdna-dkdsa cosmic substratum is in fact much closer to a kind ofmaterialistic vitalism than to the 'force' of physics. In this our authorwas of one mind with Franz Anton Mesmer himself, for whom, asPodmore remarks, "the Magnetic system [was] purely a question ofmatter and motion" (quoted in Hanegraaff 1996: 434).

16. See also: the whole cosmos is "an infinite ocean of Prana" (ibid.: 149), and an "infiniteocean of matter [i.e. akasa]" (ibid.: 151; see also 156, 158, 159, 256).

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A great advantage of the mesmeric theory was its conceptualsimplicity and polyvalence:

Since the same "fluid" could be interpreted as either spiritual ormaterial, it [was] not surprising that elements of mesmerism wereadopted by various individuals and movements for very differentreasons. Mesmerism was embraced by a whole range of illuminist andoccultist movements ... as a theory which could serve to unify eso-tericism and modern science...

[The attraction of this system] was due in large part to its essentialsimplicity: an invisible fluid connects all parts of the universe, whether"spiritual" or "material", and this fluid is the universal key to healthand harmony. (Hanegraaff 1996: 434, 435)

When, therefore, our author identifies prdna with "the vital force inevery being" (CW 1: 150, 153) we should be aware that he isemploying one of the expressions by which the mesmeric fluid wascommonly known in his day (Fuller 1989: 44).

Before we go on to discuss the second principle of mesmerism,a further occultistic connection should be highlighted. WhileVivekananda was most likely among the first to put forward explicitlythe term prdna as a candidate for full-blown mesmerico-cosmologicalassimilation, speculations along these lines had already been in evi-dence before his time, and are indeed likely to have influenced his ownelaborations. For example, we saw how, throughout the last quarterof the nineteenth century, the Theosophical Society was playing aleading role in 'making the West turn Eastward' (Bevir 1994). Writingas early as 1877 the Society's founder Helena Petrovna Blavatsky"portrayed Hinduism as a mystical religion that encouraged people toturn inwards and find the divine within themselves", and "made Indiathe centre for the natural magic which occultists traditionally asso-ciated with their cosmological schemes" (ibid.: 764). As part of herongoing defence of India as the source of a natural magic whichshould be adopted to compensate for the limited view of mainstreamscience, she more specifically wrote:

Nothing can be more easily accounted for than the highest possibilitiesof magic. By the radiant light of the universal magnetic ocean, whoseelectric waves bind the cosmos together, and in their ceaseless motionpenetrate every atom and molecule of the boundless creation, the

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disciples of mesmerism - howbeit insufficient their various experiments- intuitionally perceive the alpha and omega of the great mystery.Alone, the study of this agent, which is the divine breath, can unlockthe secrets of psychology and physiology, of cosmical and spiritualphenomena: (Isis Unveiled 1972 [1877], I: 282, as quoted in Bevir1994: 754-5).

Whether at this time Blavatsky and her colleagues were attemptingto homologize this mesmeric "divine breath" with the Sanskriticprdna or with a different pneumatic concept we have not attemptedto establish. By 1893, however, such theorizations had becomerelatively more specific: the Theosophist Srinivasa lyangar, forexample, in his English translation of the Hathayogapradipikd'sJyotsnd (commentary by Brahmananda) points out that " 'breath'does not mean the air taken in and breathed out, but the Prana, i.e.the magnetic current or breath" (lyangar 1994: 22).17 To draw evenmore specific connections between 'magnetism', 'divine breath' and6prana\ and to construct a whole cosmology around these ideaswould not have been too far fetched at this stage, and this is preciselywhat Vivekananda proceeded to do. Exploring other areas of ideo-logical overlap between Vivekananda's thought, Neo-Vedantic eso-tericism and Theosophical speculation would surely be a productiveexercise.

Prana as healing agent

The second basic principle of mesmerism postulates the unequaldistribution of the 'vital fluid' ('prdna' in Vivekananda's case) asetiological agent, thus entering the domain of more practical spec-ulation and actual application of these beliefs in daily life. Mesmericinterpretations of everyday phenomena are found in several passagesof Raja Yoga.18 As usual in this type of discourse, however, there isspecial emphasis on health and healing. Vivekananda's views in thiscontext are not very different from those of his occultist predecessors

17. The text consulted is a revised and corrected edition. Without consulting the original1893 edition we cannot be certain that this was the original wording. The antiquatedturn of phrase, however, suggests that this is likely.

18. It is through a transmission of "vital force" that people influence each other in variousways (strengthening, weakening, healing or controlling others; CW 1: 154, 155,172-3); charismatic leaders "can bring their Prana into a high state of vibration" (ibid.:155); etc.

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and contemporaries, the main variant being the name given to thefluidic element:

Sometimes in your own body the supply of Prana gravitates more orless to one part; the balance is disturbed, and when the balance ofPrana is disturbed, what we call disease is produced. To take away thesuperfluous Prana, or to supply the Prana that is wanting, will becuring the disease. That again is Pranayama - to learn when there ismore or less Prana in one part of the body than there should be. Thefeelings will become so subtle that the mind will feel that there is lessPrana in the toe or the finger than there should be, and will possess thepower to supply it. (CW 1: 155-6)

A complete materialization of the concept of prdna is evident in thispassage: prdna is stated to be an altogether material, perceivablesubstance, responding to physical laws (albeit 'subtle' ones) in con-trollable fashion.

Another passage relates the same principles to asana practice.Vivekananda does not give much importance to this aspect of yoga,but the little he does say is very much along the lines of whatsomatically oriented forms of Modern Yoga19 will develop in thefollowing decades. The reference to 'nerve currents' is, of course, toone of the main manifestations of prdna:20

The next step [of astdngayoga] is asana, posture. A series of exercises,physical and mental, is to be gone through every day, until certainhigher states are reached. Therefore it is quite necessary that we shouldfind a posture in which we can remain long ... We will find later onthat during the study of these psychological matters a good deal ofactivity goes on in the body. Nerve currents will have to be displacedand given a new channel. New sorts of vibrations will begin, the wholeconstitution will be remodelled, as it were. But the main part of theactivity will lie along the spinal column, so [one should sit erect]. Youwill easily see that you cannot think very high thoughts with the chestin. (Ibid.: 137-8)

As far as the Prdna Model is concerned, it is obvious that Viveka-nanda resolves the mind-matter problem in a thoroughly materialisticway.

19. What will be defined as Modern Postural Yoga in the next chapter.20. See, for example: "It is the Prana that is manifesting as the actions of the body

[especially breathing], as the nerve currents, as thought force" (ibid.: 147-8).

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5. VIVEKANANDA'S RA]A YOGA (1896): MODERN YOGA FORMULATED

Pranayama as healing technique

Turning now to the third basic principle of mesmerism, regardinghow to channel, store and convey the all-important prdna., we look athow pram is regulated according to the Prdna Model, viz. throughprandydma. Vivekananda starts to describe the mechanism of prdnaregulation through prandydma by saying that we need to regain the(now lost) 21 control of our own individual prdna (ibid.: 152-3). Webegin to do this by controlling its most obvious manifestation in thehuman body - breathing - with the help of which we "slowly traveltowards the most subtle until we gain our point" (ibid.: 152). Thisinvolves gaining further control of other, more subtle workings ofprdna in the body (ibid.: 153), the basic sequence being:

breath control—>• leads to control of nerve currents-*> which in turn leads to control of thoughts (ibid.: 143-4),

or

breath observation—» leads to awareness of nerve currents-» and of the motions of the mind (ibid.: 144).

This will result in many positive changes in the practitioners,including developing an ability to heal themselves and others, clear-ing "[a] 11 the sickness and misery felt in the body" (ibid.: 153), andincreasing willpower (ibid.: 155). When practitioners start practisingconcentration and meditation they will also be "intensifying thepower of assimilation" (ibid.: 157) and become capable of "con-centrating the Prana" (ibid.: 156). By 'fuelling' themselves with moreprdna (ibid.: 157) they will be able to proceed more swiftly along theevolutive ladder, typified by Vivekananda in his customarily eclecticstyle as stretching from "fungus" to "God" (ibid.: 156). As practi-tioners control subtler and subtler levels of prdna^ they will bringthemselves to "quicker" states of "vibration", and this will lead themto samddhi: "All this bringing of the mind into a higher state ofvibration is included in one word in Yoga - Samadhi" (ibid.: 159).

21. In Harmonial/New Thought fashion Vivekananda states that our control is lost becauseof conditioning (ibid.: 129); because "We have become automatic, degenerate" (ibid.:245); because we are not sufficiently "discriminating" i.e. "sensitive" (ibid.: 153, 144).

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"[L]ower states of Samadhi" grant visions of subtle reality; the"highest grade of Samadhi is when we see the real thing, when we seethe material out of which the whole of these grades of beings arecomposed" (ibid.). We thus see how, at the level of practice, thePrana and the Samadhi Models develop into each other.

We find many references to this kind of endeavour in Raja Yoga,but in the following one the principles of this process are set outespecially clearly:

We do not know anything about our own bodies ... Why do we not?Because our attention is not discriminating enough to catch the veryfine movements that are going on within. We can know of them onlywhen the mind becomes more subtle and enters, as it were, deeper intothe body. To get the subtle perception we have to begin with thegrosser perceptions. We have to get hold of that which is setting thewhole engine in motion. That is the Prana, the most obvious mani-festation of which is the breath. Then, along with the breath, we shallslowly enter the body, which will enable us to find out about the subtleforces, the nerve currents that are moving all over the body. As soon aswe perceive and learn to feel them, we shall begin to get control overthem, and over the body. The mind is also set in motion by thesedifferent nerve currents, so at last we shall reach the state of perfectcontrol over the body and the mind, making both our servants.Knowledge is power. We have to get this power. So we must begin atthe beginning, with Pranayama, restraining the Prana. (Ibid.: 144)

Here we see how, in his effort to validate his interpretations of yogaby the standards popularly accepted in the West, Vivekananda drawselements not only from physics, but also from empiricist epistemol-ogy, then (as now) widely influential. The centrality of experience asthe only true source of knowledge leads him to anatomize the yogi'sinternal journey, and to describe (and teach it) in highly individua-listic proprioceptive terms. The 'subtle' physiology of Vivekananda'sPrana Model, it should be stressed, is not intended to be read sym-bolically as in the case of hathayoga22 but to be interpreted literally.

22. See Bharati (1992: 291) on the classical approach to such intellectual constructs: "thisyogic body [composed of cakras and nadls] is not supposed to have an objectiveexistence in the sense the physical body has. It is a heuristic device aiding meditation,not any objective structure; the physical and the yogic body belong to two differentlogical levels."

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It is our lack of training which prevents us from being aware of our'subtle' physiology, not its lack of ontological status. Indeed, whendescribing "Psychic Prana" and related kundalim teachings (CW 1:160-70), Vivekananda implicitly argues that modern anatomy andphysiology are discovering what the yogis already knew, i.e. theanatomy and physiology of the nervous system.

An equation between "knowledge", "power" and "control"underlies Vivekananda's proprioceptive recommendations for prac-tice: if one becomes aware, feels, and perceives gross and subtleenergy movements within oneself (or the progression of perception inthe Samadhi Model), then one will come to know and control themfully - so goes the logic of the text. Further still, if one controls oneinstance (usually one's own prana, one's own body), then one willcontrol all (all prdnas, all bodies).

... he who has grasped the Prana has grasped all the forces of theuniverse, mental or physical. He who has controlled the Prana hascontrolled his own mind, and all the minds that exist. He who hascontrolled the Prana has controlled his body, and all the bodies thatexist... How to control the Prana is the one idea of pranayama. (Ibid.:149)23

It is in such overt but unsupported postulations that magic corre-spondences of microcosm and macrocosm are activated in Viveka-nanda's system. There is nothing especially new in the postulatesthemselves, as he follows the same siddhayoga and hathayoga tra-ditions about which White says:

In the monistic or pneumatic perspective of the yoga-based Indiangnoseologies, it is ultimately breath, breathing in and breathing out,that unites the microcosm and the macrocosm (indeed, atman can betranslated as "spirit" or "breath, re-spir-ation") ... It is for this reasonin particular that breath control plays such a paramount role in theentire yogic enterprise. (1996: 46-7)

What is different in Vivekananda (but common to other occultists) ishis purporting to be in line with the latest discoveries of science. Andwhile his attempts to integrate worldviews based on correspondences

23. See also: "The causes [of this universe] being known, the knowledge of the effects issure to follow" (CW 1: 165).

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and on instrumental causality were logically untenable, they werenevertheless successful at popular level. Similar conceptual filters willbe applied to yogic theory and practice as Vivekananda interprets theYoga Sutras and elaborates the Samadhi Model, only the innerjourney in this case will be described in psychological terms, ratherthan in anatomical and physiological ones.

Samadhi as psychological "superconsciousness"

This brings us to the last principle of mesmerism, concerning 'healingcrises'. Hanegraaff (1996: 438-9) explains that the 'crisis' postulatedby Mesmer as part of his system was replaced by Mesmer's influentialfollower de Puysegur (1751-1825) with what became known in thosedays as "induced somnambulism". Such new and more psychologi-cally oriented approach was used for the same therapeutic andexperiential purposes as Mesmer had done with his 'crises', the sys-tem eventually developing into what we now know as hypnotism. Asthis type of research grew, so did the interest, especially on the part ofthe emerging science of Functionalist psychology and its successors,in the variety and nature of hypnotic and other altered states ofconsciousness. Such states, but self-induced and referred to as"superconsciousness" and "Self-realization",24 Vivekananda willdefine as the key locus not of a healing 'crisis', but of a self-validatingand life-transforming (and hence, ultimately, existentially healing orsoteriological) religious experience.

The Samadhi Model

The Samadhi Model continues Sen's motif of "spiritual empiricism",but follows more closely than Sen did the Patanjalian model ofmeditative introspection found in the antaranga section ofastangayoga, comprising dharana, dhyana and samddhi. The internaljourney of the practitioner, however, is not interpreted, as Patanjalidoes, in terms of an ahistorical process of purification and involutiontowards a state of radically transcendent liberation. It is describedinstead in terms of evolutive realization of human potential. Stronglyinfluenced by the New Thought style of Metaphysical teachings that

24. CW 1: 180, 185, 213, 233 ("superconsciousness"), and ibid.: 304 ("self-realisation"),264 ("realisation of the Self").

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pervaded the American cultic milieu to which he had acculturated(Chapter 3), Vivekananda reinterprets Patanjali's samyama in psy-chological terms: samddbi is defined as a going 'back to the source ofintelligence', or back to the "immanent divine 'Mind' which is thesource and foundation of finite minds" (Hanegraaff 1996: 494-5).Thus, Vivekananda posits, "the potential god [which is in man]becomes manifest" (CW1: 293). Echoes of Patanjali's ultimate modelof radical transcendence (kaivalya) are occasionally found in the formof the Neo-Advaitic component, and testify to the author's attemptsto integrate the Advaitic tradition he admired so much into his yogaframework. As we shall see, however, they are not very prominent.

The influence of Metaphysical beliefs

We saw with regard to the Prdna Model that Vivekananda reinter-prets Sdmkhya-Yoga cosmology in occultistic terms. The bottom partof the prdna and dkdsa scheme of translations discussed on page 157shows that he assimilates meditative practices in the same frameworkby translating prdna as "thought" and dkdsa as "mind". "Thought isthe finest and highest action of Prana" (ibid.: 150), he affirms in thiscontext, and "when the action of Prana is most subtle, this very ether[dkdsa], in the finer state of vibration, will represent the mind" (ibid.:151). Even though we are in the 'finer' regions of the cosmos, theemanational chain is still the same, with the two main evolutescausally interacting to form grosser and grosser forms of manifes-tation. A key Metaphysical element, however, is powerfully broughtin by reinterpreting the classical concept of purusa in a way thatclosely resembles occultistic elaborations of the Emersonian Over-Soul.

It is true that on occasion Vivekananda follows the Classical Yogascheme by representing the purusa as altogether transcendent,"beyond the whole of nature", "not material at all", and "entirelyseparate, entirely different" from prakrti (ibid.: 251). Most of thetime, however, the same purusa is understood anthropocentrically interms of what we may call 'idealist panpsychism'. It is both thedeepest ontological core of human beings and the ultimate spiritualsource vivifying and pervading the whole of the cosmos: "It is the realnature of man, the soul, the Purusha [whose] freedom is percolatingthrough layers of matter in various forms, intelligence, mind, etc. It isits light which is shining through all" (ibid.: 254).

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Vivekananda is still struggling to match Harmonialist andSamkhya-Yoga cosmological frameworks at this stage, and at timespronounces contradicting statements. We find, for example, that"purusa", "mind" and "prana" are stated to be all similarly"omnipresent" and vivifying the cosmos,25 thus seemingly holdingthe same roles and equal status. This is more coherent with theultimately materialistic vision of the Prana Model. We also read,however, that the Yogi's mind "is one bit of the universal mind"(ibid.: 281-2). The latter statement is more akin to what will emergeas the core teaching of the Samadhi Model, viz. the rationale onwhich most of Vivekananda's meditation-related teachings will bebased. This postulates the primacy of a creative "universal mind" inwhich all human beings may partake by way of the 'subtle' layers oftheir mind. Once the 'natural' laws regulating these subtler layers areknown, they can be controlled. These laws, Vivekananda continues,are as yet undiscovered by Western science, but are well known toyogis, who master them to perfection and are therefore able to realizefully the human potential which is dormant in all of us. The devel-opment of this dormant potential is presented by Vivekananda interms of 'kundalini arousal'. In a passage summarizing a number ofrecurrent themes he states:

Some day, if you practise hard, the Kundalini will be aroused ... [then]the whole of [your] nature will begin to change, and the book ofknowledge will open. No more will you need to go to books forknowledge; your own mind will have become your book, containinginfinite knowledge. (Ibid.: 168-9)26

At this point anything becomes possible. If such laws are not known,the mind "can only work through the nerve currents in [the] body,but when the Yogi has loosened himself from these nerve currents, hecan work through other things" (CW1: 282), i.e. tap into the creativecosmic levels of the "universal mind".

Vivekananda would eventually postulate this core teaching expli-

25. Cf. the following statements: "not only [man's] soul [purusa} is omnipresent, but hismind also, as the Yogi teaches" (ibid.: 281), while praria is defined as "the infinite,omnipresent manifesting power of this universe" (ibid.: 147).

26. We may note in this context that it was through the publication of Raja Yoga that theconcept of kundalinl was first popularized in the West. Taylor was obviously not awareof this fact and therefore states (1996: 148) that this concept was first popularized byAvalon in his The Serpent Power (1918).

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citly in a lecture delivered in 1900. Here 'mind' (instead ofpurusa) isbrought forward as 'prime mover' and "sum total of all minds":

Matter cannot be said to cause force nor [can] force [be] the cause ofmatter. Both are so [related] that one may disappear in the other.There must be a third [factor], and that third something is the mind.You cannot produce the universe from matter, neither from force.Mind is something [which is] neither force nor matter, yet begettingforce and matter all the time. In the long run, mind is begetting allforce, and that is what is meant by the universal mind, the sum total ofall minds. Everyone is creating, and [in] the sum total of all thesecreations you have the universe - unity in diversity. (Ibid.: 506, squarebracket editing in original)

Within the framework of this 'psychologized' cosmos, in the 'crea-tive' and evolutionary thrust of which (as New Thought affirmed)each of us can partake, meditative yoga is redefined as a techniqueallowing us to 'attune ourselves' to the 'universal mind' and hencepartake of its perfection and power. In this context, "All manipula-tions of the subtle forces of the body, the different manifestations ofPrana, if trained, give a push to the mind, help it to go up higher, andbecome superconscious" (ibid.: 150).

The influence of Functionalist psychology

This "superconsciousness", as already hinted at the end of our dis-cussion on the Prana Model, is defined in psychological terms partlyinspired by William James' Functionalist psychology. James andVivekananda were relatively well acquainted as they gravitated in thesame intellectual circles.27 Indeed, James was asked to write a prefacefor Raja Yoga, but his contribution never materialized (see CW 9:85). This author is usually regarded as the founding father of Func-tionalist psychology. As Hanegraaff explains, this school of thoughtemerged from about 1890 against a background of Emersonianidealism and

held that psychology must not be concerned with what consciousnessis but with what it does (i.e., with its functioning). Beyond that,however, functionalist theories typically adopted the more specific

27. See Vivekananda's humorous report on "a congress of cranks" which both he andJames attended (CW 6: 436-8).

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premises of "romantic evolutionism" within a broadly Transcenden-talist framework:

Approaching Darwin's developmental-evolutionary theory armedwith the romantic philosophies of Hegel, Schelling and eventuallyBergson, the functionalists robbed Darwinian biology of its reduc-tionist sting. Henceforth all discussions of nature - even whencouched in scientific terms - could be interpreted as descriptions ofthe concrete processes whereby an immanent divine force progres-sively unfolds its creative potential. By implication, psychology isessentially a special instance of a distinct metaphysical interpretationof reality. Psychological descriptions of human nature, thoughframed in the language of secular science, could yet be understood asdefining the structures that allow us to participate in nature'supward surge. (1996: 491, quoting Fuller)

It is in this sense that Vivekananda brought together Sdmkhya-Yoga theories and elements of Functionalist psychology. Interpretingthem as closely related areas of knowledge and of empirical experi-mentation, Vivekananda discusses Samkhya-Yoga in terms ofEmpiricist theories of perception (CW 1: 134-5, 200-1), which hedefines as "psychology" (ibid.: 135). He also equates "religion","metaphysics" and "psychology" as similarly dealing with "the innernature of man" (ibid.: 131, 225). Thus the Swami joins the intellec-tual current of secularization which was shaping the forms and lan-guage of the psychologization of religion. One of the centralexponents of this current was James:

When William James interpreted the unconscious as humankind's linkwith a spiritual "more", he gave shape to a peculiarly modern spiri-tuality. James' vision of the unconscious depths of human personalityas at once psychological and spiritual made it possible for modernAmericans to view self-exploration as spiritually significant and reli-gious experience as psychologically profound. (Fuller, as quoted inHanegraaff 1996: 492)

James also defended an epistemology of "radical empiricism",which conceded "no a priori or preconceived limits to what con-stitutes a 'fact'", thus accepting "the entire field of consciousnessincluding its margins or fringes as basic datum to the psychologicalsciences" (Hanegraaff 1996: 492). James "compared this field ofconsciousness to a light spectrum, of which we ordinarily perceive

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only small fractions while the rest remains 'unconscious'. The upperor higher reaches of the unconscious could, however, be studied insuch phenomena as telepathy, clairvoyance, religious experience ortrance states" (ibid.).

It is here that we find the most direct borrowing on the part ofVivekananda, who similarly uses the metaphor of the light spectrumto explain his understanding of "consciousness", and of our ability toaccess its various levels (CW 1: 198, 158, 213). As our eyes are notaware of the lower and higher frequencies of the light spectrum, butonly of the middle band to which our sight is attuned, he reasons, sowe are normally aware only of our middle "plane of thought":

There is ... instinct or unconscious thought, the lowest plane of action... There is again the other plane of thought, the conscious ... Themind can exist on a still higher plane, the superconscious. When themind has attained to that state, which is called Samadhi - perfectconcentration, superconsciousness - it goes beyond the limits of rea-son, and comes face to face with facts which no instinct or reason canever know. (Ibid.: 150)

James' psychological speculations as expressed in his seminaltextbook The Principles of Psychology (1890) must have played aninspirational role in Vivekananda's modern reinterpretation of med-itation and samddhi. Applying James' approach to psychology basedon "looking into our minds and reporting what we there discover",28

Vivekananda prescribed the same formula for his religio-psychological "science of yoga": we need to get to know "the internalnature of man", he affirmed, by "observing the facts that are going onwithin" (CW 1: 129).

Psychological proprioception as practice

Following on from the proprioceptive method used in the bahirangapractices, Vivekananda adopts a similar approach for the SamadhiModel. This time, however, it will be a matter of becoming aware ofthe workings of our mind, and of attaining "superconsciousness",rather than of learning to feel and control 'pranic currents'. As in thecase of the Prdna Model, also the Samddhi Model will go on to

28. The Principles of Psychology (1890), quoted in Gregory (1987: 650).

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become one of the most productive and influential in Modern Yogacircles. A brief description of it runs as follows:

The Yogi proposes to attain that fine state of perception in which hecan perceive all the different mental states. There must be mentalperception of all of them. One can perceive how the sensation is tra-velling, how the mind is receiving it, how it is going to the determi-native faculty,[29] and how this gives it to the Purusha. (Ibid.: 136)30

This, however, is not easy to do because, Vivekananda explains inkeeping with New Thought tenets, due to societal conditioning "wehave been taught only to pay attention to things external ... hencemost of us have nearly lost the faculty of observing the internalmechanism" (ibid.: 129). The only way to carry out this type ofobservation is through the "method" of "concentration" (ibid.:130),31 and the "instrument" used for carrying out this exercise is"the mind itself" (ibid.: 129) - it is a case of "mind studying mind"(ibid.: 131). This concentration has an intrinsic epistemologicalpotential, our author explains, as it will take us inwards "to the basisof belief, the real genuine religion. We will perceive for ourselveswhether we have souls ... whether there is a God in the universe ormore.32 It will all be revealed to us" (CW 1: 131).

Vivekananda is never monolithic in his interpretations, but themain message of Raja Yoga is that yoga is a deeply transformativepractice. Culminating in the experience of "Self-realization", Vive-kananda's Raja Yoga allows us to cultivate what in New Age termswould be described as 'Personal Growth' and to attain our 'higherpotential': "when a man goes into Samadhi, if he goes into it a fool,he comes out a sage ... his whole character changed, his life changed,illumined" (ibid.: 180-1), Vivekananda affirms. Or again: "perfec-tion is man's nature, only it is barred in and prevented from taking itsproper course ... Those we call wicked become saints, as soon as thebar is broken"; "when knowledge breaks these bars, the god becomes

29. One of the ways in which Vivekananda translates buddhi (CW 1: 135, 200).30. Because of Vivekananda's epistemological reliance on perception, he at times cannot

avoid turning purusa into the 'ultimate perceiver': see "The soul itself [purusa] is thecentre where all the different perceptions converge and become unified" (ibid.: 255).

31. The term is also used to translate samddhi (ibid.: 291).32. Interestingly, CW 1 reads "more" here (ibid.: 131), while a pocket edition of Raja Yoga

(Himalayas: Mayavati, 1994: 10) reads "none".

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manifest" (ibid.: 292, 293).33 Vivekananda's 'gods', 'sages' and'saints', however, should not be mistaken for the categories of Hinduor Christian doctrine and theology usually referred to by these names:Vivekananda's 'divinity' is rather a state of advanced human devel-opment, a further evolutive condition in which the potential ofhumanity is truly fulfilled. "The progress and civilisation of thehuman race simply mean controlling this nature" (CW 1: 133),Vivekananda states. Ultimately, he reminds us along the lines of otherNew Thought authors, we are in charge of our own destiny:

The man who thinks that he is receiving response to his prayers doesnot know that the fulfillment comes from his own nature, that he hassucceeded by the mental attitude of prayer in waking up a bit of thisinfinite power [i.e. kundalim] which is coiled up within himself. (Ibid.:165)

There is no question of supernatural achievements here (ibid.: 122),but just of accessing our true power and nature, which we haveforgotten through identification with our lower modes of con-sciousness.

The Neo-Advaitic component

Vivekananda does not seem to notice that what he describes as the"superconscious" state sounds much like the siddhic condition that,when in Neo-Advaitic mode, he categorically affirms should beshunned in order to attain final liberation. When in this mode, in fact,our author takes a much more otherworldly and transcendentapproach to the question of the ultimate human state, and predicatestranscending the human condition altogether:

There is no liberation in getting powers. It is a worldly search afterenjoyments, and ... all search for enjoyment is vain; this is the old, oldlesson which man finds so hard to learn. When he does learn it, he getsout of the universe and becomes free. (Ibid.: 211)

"It is only by giving up this world", he affirms elsewhere, "that theother comes; never through holding on to this one" (ibid.: 247; see

33. For an extended refutation of such claims see Bharati (1976, Chapter 4).

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also 285-6). But this position is hardly elaborated or discussed: it israther stated than argued in Raja Yoga, and it is really secondary tothe overall argument and thrust of the text. Indeed, at times it appearsto contradict the main flow of the book, as in the instance where thetwo opposite ultimate goals (moksa and a siddhic state) are men-tioned in the same passage: "... the aim, the end, the goal of all this[yoga] training is liberation of the soul. Absolute control of nature,and nothing short of it, must be the goal" (ibid.: 140). An analysis ofthe text suggests that, all in all, Vivekananda recommends the 'divi-nization' or rather 'full evolution5 of the human being, and only addssuggestions of radical transcendence more as a reflection of culturalhabit than as necessary parts of the overall argument.

Yogic experience in classical Vedanta

So we see that Vivekananda recommends yoga, and in particular(what he calls) rajayoga as the best, at times even the only, techniqueor rather 'science' apt to lead us to a self-validating "realization"experience, the only locus where true religion may be found. We alsoknow that throughout his life he repeatedly invoked Vedanta, andespecially Sankara's Advaita, as a validating source for his teachings.We cannot, of course, fully discuss such momentous claims here. Wecan, however, briefly compare Vivekananda's message with whatSankara and Ramanuja, the two main Vedantic authorities, thoughtabout yogic experience or perception (yogipratyaksa). About Advai-ta's main exponent we read:

... Sankara does not invoke any extraordinary "psychological events"and he does not try to validate the truth of non-dualism by referring to"visionary" or "mystical" experiences of extraordinary persons.Instead, he reflects on the nature of self-awareness and immediacy, as itis present even in ordinary life, and he tries to find in it what theUpanisads teach explicitly. However, he insists that without the gui-dance of revelation [sruti] such reflection would not be able to uncoverthe true, i.e. non-dual nature of "experience" and the self. He projectsabsolute anubhava, i.e. brahmdnubhava or brahmabhdva as a soter-iological goal, which is by definition transpersonal and transworldly.He never refers to such "experience" as an actual worldly occurrencewhich could be used as empirical evidence for the truth of non-

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dualism. There are no worldly "empirical data" for what transcendsthe horizon of worldly cognition. (Halbfass 1988: 390; also see ibid.:302-3)

This must suffice to show that Vivekananda's empirical approachto the validity of yogic experience, stressing the attainment of"superconsciousness" and of self-validating forms of revelation, is atgreat variance with Sankara's.

As for Ramanuja,34 he too is far from regarding yogic experienceas a valid source of religious knowledge. To extract just a couple ofessential passages from Lester's book on the subject:

Ramanuja affirms that dogma defines practice in three ways whichbear on our concern:

(1) He affirms that scripture is the source of knowledge of Brahmanand yogic perception is not. In fact, he affirms that yogic perception isnot at all a source of knowledge; rather, it is simply a vivid imaginationof an object due to intense concentration upon that object.

(2) He affirms that gaining right knowledge of the nature of the real- right theological orientation - from scripture is fundamental to thepursuit of release [moksa].

(3) He rejects the Yoga School's view of the nature of the soul and ofthe Lord (Isvara). This is the one and only direct comment whichRamanuja makes on the Yoga school; yet it is sufficient to indicate thatRamanuja will structure Patanjalian-type Yoga strictly in terms of histheistic doctrine; for he says, 'The nature of the meditation in whichthe Yoga consists is determined by the nature of the object of medi-tation...' (1976: 133-4)

In dhydna the mental faculties have been focused exclusively on theSupreme Person - not with a view to making the object more and moreabstract until an objectless state is attained, but with a view to gen-erating devotion towards the Supreme person. Dhydna is simplyremembrance and its result is an entirely subjective vision. Ramanujasimply omits samddhi - dhydna goes on and on resulting only in evergreater devotion, ever more vivid imagination. (Ibid.: 140-1)

Validation of Vivekananda's position from the Visistadvaita teacheris therefore also out of the question.

34. From whose tradition Vivekananda draws heavily in his treatment of Bhakti-Yoga (CW3: 29-100).

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The Yoga Sutras: a rdjayoga textbook?

One last but central question needs to be examined before we con-clude this chapter. In Raja Yoga's Preface we find an importantaffirmation: "The aphorisms of Patanjali are the highest authority onRaja-Yoga, and form its textbook" (CW 1: 122). We must questionthe identification of rdjayoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Thisidentification, unlike the identification of astdngayoga with rdjayogaîs not documented in the classical tradition and must therefore beconsidered a modern accretion.35

The Theosophical Society seems again to have been the first groupto propagate this idea. Writing in 1880-81 Blavatsky made a generaldistinction between an 'inferior' hathayoga and a 'superior' rdjayogaâffirming that the former was only based on physical practiceswhereas the latter "train [ed] but [the] mental and intellectual pow-ers" (Blavatsky 1967: 463). She then proceeded to identify thissuperior rdjayoga semi-explicitly with Patanjali's yoga (ibid.: 466-7)and, explicitly, with "what is termed in our day 'hypnotism' or self-mesmerisation" (ibid.: 458). Finally, she affirmed that the only truepractitioners of rdjayoga were "Sankara's Dandis of Northern India"(ibid.: 462). Now the name Dandins ("those who have a staff",danda] designates the four orders among Sankara's DasanamI monkswho are drawn exclusively from the Brahaminical caste (Ghurye1995 [1953]: 71-2). Hence they represent the choice intellectualelement of a monastic order traditionally associated with high intel-lectual endeavours. As such, their area of expertise and authoritywould be, if anything, in the field of jndnayoga. Blavatsky, however,amalgamates rdjayoga^ Patanjali's yoga, Vedantic jndnayoga and"self-mesmerisation" by stating, effectively, that they are all thesame.

The influential American Theosophist W. Q. Judge (1889: vi-vii)continues along similar, if less eclectic, lines. In his "interpretation"of the Yoga Sutras he also states that yoga consists essentially ofhathayoga and rdjayoga and he identifies Patanjali's teachings withrdjayoga^ if only half-explicitly. The Indian scholar and TheosophistDvivedi, finally, affirms that Patanjali covers both "Htf^-(physical)and R^-(mental) Yoga" (1890, I: 49), and that both aim at sus-pending "the action of the mind" (ibid., I: 50). He also explicitly

35. For a list of classical references see Philosophico Literary Research Dept. (1991: 245).

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identifies rdjayoga with the classic Patanjalian formula yogascit-tavrttinirodhah (YS I. 2) at least once in his work.36 With Raja Yogaand other texts Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna movement wenton to sanction and popularize similar ideas.37

The misidentification between Vivekananda's rdjayoga and theYoga Sutras of Patanjali is very revealing in the present context as itbetrays a cognitive confusion which causes a typically esoteric varietyof yoga (further occultized by Vivekananda and his followers) to beunderstood not only in terms of mainstream yoga, but as the mostimportant and universally applicable form of yoga.

This compounding of Classical Yoga and rdjayoga is so widespreadnowadays that it is usually taken for granted, at least in esotericcircles.38 Contemporary evidence suggests that, a century down theline from the publication of Vivekananda's Raja Yoga, this erroneousnotion has been completely assimilated into Modern Yoga culture,and beyond it into a 'global' community of seekers. Thus if occultisticdefinitions of yoga have gained enormous ascendancy in ModernYoga circles this will in good part be because the full authority of theYoga Sutras has been mistakenly attributed to them. The same pro-cess has, conversely, greatly contributed to create a widespreadzmawareness of how many links branch out from the highly con-densed structure of Patanjali's text (and from the attached com-mentatorial literature) to radiate and connect at many differentchronological, textual and performative levels throughout the Hindutradition. It is only because of such unawareness that Modern Yogaexponents can claim that "Yoga is not a religion, it is a way of life."39

While the Yoga Sutras are a highly sophisticated intellectual com-pendium providing a synthetic and semantically layered overview of

36. He refers to "... the method of vrttinirodha or Rdjayoga" (Dvivedi 1890, II: 14), butalso, in perfect proto New Age fashion, states that "true yoga or Rdjayoga" is attained"when the microcosm becomes attuned to the macrocosm", which will "makeexperience full of that harmony and bliss which is the inevitable result of unity withnature" (ibid., I: 37).

37. Apart from Vivekananda's own texts, see, for example, the definition that the influ-ential Swami Nikhilananda (in Gupta 1984 [1942]: 1043) proposes in a Glossary entry:"Rdjayoga - The famous treatise on yoga, ascribed to Patanjali; also the yoga describedin this treatise."

38. Many Modern Yoga texts equate the Yoga Sutras with rdjayoga: the TheosophistErnest Wood, for example, does so in the very popular Yoga (Wood 1982 [1959]: 82,98, 168; see especially page 188 where he refers to the Yoga Sutras as "this raja-yogamanual").

39. Or, 'a philosophy', 'a tool', etc. Statements of this type are a leitmotif in Modern Yogaliterature; see, for example, the titles chosen by Pillai (1986) and Devdutt (1997).

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all main types of yoga, within the conceptual universe of ModernYoga the Sutras find themselves demoted to representing only a verylimited range of (usually occultized) hathayogic practices.

All the changes that we have discussed in the preceding chaptersmay be seen to have led to a paradigmatic shift in the ways in whichyoga is popularly perceived nowadays: from the classical Gita modelof the three yogas (bhakti, jndna and karma, the whole including, butalso tempering, more esoteric forms of practice),40 we have come toVivekananda's C4 yoga' model, in which rdjayoga is not only put on apar with the classical threefold subdivision of yoga, but actuallyportrayed as superior to all other forms. As Vivekananda himselfstates:

The goal is to manifest this Divinity within, by controlling nature,external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychiccontrol, or philosophy - by one or more or all of these - and be free.This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, orbooks, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details. (CW 1: 257)41

40. Ramakrishna refers to three yogas (Gupta 1984 [1942]:467-8), and so does Viveka-nanda in Karma-Yoga (CW 1: 25-118), composed before Raja Yoga.

41. This passage, rightly selected as representative of the whole of Vivekananda's RajaYoga message, is quoted at the beginning of many editions of the text, for exampleVivekananda (1994) and CW (1: 124). The list of four in the second sentence refers ofcourse to the '4 yogas' as interpreted by the author and, in the light of the foregoingdiscussion, it is significant that he uses "psychic control" to signify rdjayoga.

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6. Twentieth-centurydevelopments of ModernYoga

Health is religious. Ill-health is irreligious.(B. K. S. lyengar YV: 10)

As we saw in the preceding chapter, the crucial conceptual shiftoperated by Vivekananda is as follows: from a Sen-like romanticallyinterpreted 'science of yoga' leading one to an 'intuitive' vision ofGod Vivekananda moves towards a technologically interpreted 'sci-ence of yoga' aimed at 'reattuning' the practitioner to the cosmos.This should lead adepts to 'realize' their own true nature, which isessentially spiritual. The contradiction in terms implicit in the state-ment that our true nature is spiritual is an integral part of this defi-nition, and is rooted in the conceptual and terminological historyof Modern Yoga. It is implicit in the shift from an esoteric, stillrelatively enchanted "spiritualism" to a thoroughly secularized,rationalistic and occultistic one. In both views, however, the yogicexperience is considered as the central, indeed the only real core ofreligion, all other aspects of religion being "but secondary details"(CW 1: 257).

Thus Vivekananda represents the epitome of the religious crisis ofthe late nineteenth century, as undergone by Neo-Vedantins: eagerlyabsorbing the new knowledge and ways of life, but inwardly feeling aheart-rending nostalgia and longing for the old traditional forms.

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This would lead many Neo-Vedantins to a tortured, passionate anddedicated first-hand search for a new truth. In this sense Viveka-nanda's vision, while bringing to bear the core elements of 'alter-native medicine' (see below) to his redefinition of yoga, was stillexplicitly and not only implicitly religious. The publication of RajaYoga, sanctioning and giving body to these teachings, immediatelystarted something of a "y°8a renaissance" both in India and in theWest.1 Not much research has been done on Modern Yoga so far (seeIntroduction), but most emic and etic discussions agree that Vive-kananda had a pervasive influence on its development.

An early article by Jackson (1975) is especially interesting in thiscontext. It examines "one singular manifestation of the fin de siecleOriental vogue, the New Thought movement's discovery of ancientIndian thought" (ibid.: 525) on the basis of American textual mate-rial. Here the author reports how Vivekananda and his co-workers"made a profound impression upon members of the New Thoughtmovement" (ibid.: 529), who felt "a strong attraction to yoga" (ibid.:534). Jackson also points out that they "seem to have been searchingfor practical and concrete methods of coping with their daily physi-cal, psychological and spiritual problems" (ibid.). This can, of course,be seen as a variation on the "demand for 'occult' practices" themediscussed in Chapter 3. Jackson's material, however, also providesrevealing - and more specific - evidence with regard to Raja Yoga'spopularity and direct influence in these milieus. Even though Jacksondoes not mention the book at all, his analysis of primary sourcesranging from the last years of the 1880s to the first decade of thetwentieth century shows that immediately after 1896, New Thoughtdiscussions shift from a general interest in "yoga" to more specificelaborations on "four types of yoga - Karma, Bhakti, Raja andJnana", and that "Raja Yoga" is recommended as the best of the fourtypes of practice (ibid.: 534-5). As already mentioned in Chapter 3,Vivekananda himself pointed out that the book had been an instantsuccess both in India and in North America (CW 5: 123; CW 6: 382;CW 8: 486). Based on its ongoing popularity to date we can con-fidently assume that Raja Yoga has been very influential indeed.

As for a revival of yoga in India, we have as evidence the creation

1. A commemorative plaque found in the grounds of the Yoga Institute at Santa Cruz,Bombay (see below), welcomes visitors by proudly announcing that they find themselvesat: "the heart of modern yoga renaissance" (see Figure 1). The age of the Institute, alsoinscribed on the plaque, is updated every year.

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6. TWENTIETH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS OF MODERN YOGA

of the two earliest Indian Modern Yoga institutions: the Yoga Insti-tute at Santa Cruz, Bombay (established 1918), and the Kaivalya-dhama Shrimad Madhava Yoga Mandir Samiti at Lonavla (estab-lished 1921), roughly half way between Bombay and Poona. Both ofthese institutions remain influential to this day, training teachers,running camps and retreats, offering yoga therapy, publishingaffordable books and pamphlets, and generally propagating variousaspects of Modern Yoga in India and abroad. They owe their crea-tion, at least in part, to Vivekananda: their founders' common guru,Sri Madhavadasji of Malsar, had in fact been very receptive to theSwami's message.2

Space constraints prevent us from looking at the first fifty years ofModern Yoga in detail, though we will propose an interpretativetypology of Modern Yoga based on the developments which tookplace during this period (see below). As studies of Modern Yogastand at this point in time, this may actually prove to be a more usefulanalytical tool than a detailed history would be.3 Before going on tothis, however, we need briefly to discuss the ways in which 'alter-native medicine'4 is connected with New Age forms of religiosity. It isin fact in these areas of endeavour and theorization that the ModernYoga renaissance stimulated by Vivekananda will become fullyacculturated in the West.

Alternative medicine and New Age religiosity

After elaboration under rapidly secularizing Western conditions,Modern Yoga came to be described more and more as an inward,privatized form of religion. Its association with emerging forms ofalternative medicine developed accordingly. We shall attempt to

2. Author's interview with Dr Jayadeva Yogendra, son of the founder and current head ofthe Yoga Institute, 2 July 1994, unpublished. Regarding these institutions see Alter(2000, Part II and, especially, forthcoming).

3. Ceccomori (2001) does cover the history of this period, and while her work focusesmainly on the French situation, several of the Modern Yoga schools and teachers shediscusses also have bases and/or followers in English-speaking countries.

4. Also referred to nowadays as 'complementary' and 'integrative' medicine. It is worthnoting here that these three appellations have appeared one after the other since the late1970s, the latter one becoming established only towards the end of the 1990s (see, forexample, ElFeki 1999: 143). Their implicit and explicit semantic content signals thediffering ways in which these therapeutic approaches have been perceived and propa-gated: namely, as progressively more acceptable and compatible with mainstreammedicine.

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review some of the possible ritual and symbolic values of thesephenomena in the concluding chapter. All that we need to point outat this stage is that the various concerns relating to Modern Yoga asfound within the field of alternative medicine had, by the 1960s,started to develop characteristic theories and practices. By this stage,contact with the metaphysical, the transcendent or the sacred, if at allenvisaged, is affirmed to take place almost exclusively through one'sinteriority, and on the basis of one's own personal 'spiritual work',one's seeking or, most of all, 'practice'. This process is understood tobe part of the natural evolutionary development of each humanbeing, a development that can be fostered and accelerated by way ofspecific forms of practice.

These developments contribute, throughout the 1960s, 1970s and1980s, to the "astonishing resurgence of healing systems that overtlyembrace a metaphysical notion of causality" (Fuller 1989: 91). Withthe emergence of a self-conscious New Age movement in the mid-1970s, they crystallized in one of the five main trends of New Agereligion (as discussed by Hanegraaff 1996, Chapter 2), i.e. the oneconcerning itself with 'healing and personal growth',5 to a briefanalysis of which we now turn.

New Age healing...

As Fuller (1989: 5) points out, healing "is a profoundly culturalactivity. Labeling a disease and prescribing treatment express ahealer's commitment to a particular set of assumptions about thestructure and properties of physical existence." Indeed, differenttypes of medicine conceptualize states of health and non-health indifferent ways. In the present context it will be useful to employ astandard distinction used by medical anthropologists between 'bio-medicine' on the one hand and 'holistic medicine' on the other.6 Theformer is what is understood as today's mainstream medicine; thelatter encompasses non-mainstream approaches to medicine, as wellas various forms of folk and religious healing, and pre-modernapproaches to health and well-being. Holistic medicine thusdescribed tends to comprise

5. The other four trends are: Channelling, New Age Science, Neopaganism and the conceptof 'New Age' (in a restricted and in a general sense) (see Hanegraaff 1996, Part One).

6. As formulated here, the distinction combines elements from the work of Helman (1994),Young (1982) and McGuire (1985).

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Naturalistic systems [which] conform above all to an equilibriummodel; health prevails when the insensate elements in the body, theheat, the cold, the humours of dosha, the yin and yang, are in balanceappropriate to the age and condition of the individual in his naturaland social environment. When this equilibrium is disturbed, illnessresults. (Foster and Anderson, as quoted in Hanegraaff 1996: 45)

As such, this type of medicine regards non-health as illness, meaninga person's perceptions and experiences of certain socially disvaluedstates including, but not limited to, disease. It concerns itself with thecomplex social, psychological and spiritual condition of the sickperson, and constitutes the proper domain of healing, with healers aspractitioners. The emphasis here is on healing as a holistic practice,while preventive medicine and health-oriented lifestyles are alsoactively promoted.

Biomedicine, on the other hand, concerns itself with disease seen asa biophysical condition: it regards conditions as abnormalities in thestructure and/or function of organs and organ systems. It refers topathological states whether or not they are culturally recognized.Medical practitioners are concerned with curing these conditionsonce they arise, mainly relying on an allopathic pharmacopoeia andon surgical interventions to effect their cures. Medical and para-medical professionals, as well as hygienists and health counsellors ofvarious types, are generally expected to work according to thismodel. Biomedicine cures disease whereas holistic medicine healsillness.

As one might expect, the New Age aligns itself with the moretraditional and holistic forms of medicine; it is more concerned withthe business of 'healing' than with that of 'curing', even though it isreceptive to suggestions from modern science and, most of all, frompsychology (ibid.: 46).

... and personal growth

As Hanegraaff explains, metaphysical alternative healing systemsencompass, along with physical and psychological notions of healing,also religious concerns which similarly attempt to "give answers andprescriptions for dealing - either practically or conceptually - withhuman weakness and suffering" (ibid.: 44). Concepts of ultimatereligious attainment (Christian salvation; Hindu moksa or "libera-tion"; etc.) may thus be seen as radical forms of 'healing'. In the case

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of New Age religion, this notion of ultimate 'making whole' isunderstood in terms of personal growth:

In a general sense, "personal growth" can be understood as the shape"religious salvation" takes in the New Age movement: it is affirmedthat deliverance from human suffering and weakness will be reachedby developing our human potential, which results in our increasinglygetting in touch with our inner divinity. Considering the general affi-nity between salvation and healing, the close connection betweenpersonal growth and healing in the New Age Movement is hardlysurprising in itself. It is important to note, however, that therapy andreligious "salvation" tend to merge to an extent perhaps unprece-dented in other traditions. (Ibid.: 46)

As will be noted, the above quotation could equally well apply to theNeo-Vedantic aim of "Self-realization". This is why "realization"terminology abounds in New Age discourses: on the basis of thelinguistic background discussed in Chapter 4 this flexible terminologyis perfectly suited to describe the attainment of ultimate personalgrowth and of maximum "human potential". While the Sanskritjndna terminology attempts to describe through analogic categoriesthe unitive, supra-discursive insights accessed on occasion by humanbeings, the English versions of these expressions have come torepresent a much more anthropocentric and mechanistic view ofthese experiences. This is especially evident as, with the emergence ofthe New Age movement in the mid-1970s, the 'realization' focusprogressively shifts from "God-" to "Self-realization".7 We shallanalyse this trend in more detail in Chapter 7. For the moment,however, we need to fill in the picture with regard to overall devel-opmental trends in Modern Yoga.

7. Note, for example, the following field observation: a YS translation by Prabhavanandaand Isherwood (1953) was widely used in Modern Yoga circles throughout the 1970sand early 1980s. By the end of this period, however, Modern Yoga practitioners startedobjecting to its title, How to Know God. It was in fact widely felt that yoga led toknowledge of 'Self, not of 'God', and that this title was therefore inappropriate. Quiteapart from the book's contents, its title was regarded as a major drawback, especiallywhen this text was considered for inclusion in teacher training courses' reading lists (ownfield data).

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Towards a typology of Modern Yoga

This will be done by introducing a typology of Modern Yoga asfound in English-speaking milieus worldwide and by subsequentlydiscussing the developmental phases of Modern Yoga in the latterhalf of the twentieth century. Many groups claim to be practising orteaching yoga, but what do they mean exactly? While each groupinterprets and uses yogic teachings in unique ways, having an ideaabout overall orientations can help to clarify a number of basic issues,such as which aspects of practice any particular school may stress, orthe amount of personal involvement that is likely to be expected froma new follower. A visual outline of the typology is shown in Table 3.

Some general comments about the overall structure of this typologywill be in place here. After Vivekananda's 1896 formulation, ModernYoga developed into various schools dedicated to body-mind-spirit'training', which we shall call Modern Psychosomatic Yoga (MPsY).During this period a number of followers, emulators and intellectualheirs of the Swami carried on cultivating and extending the doctrineshe had formulated. Within a couple of decades, further specializationhad occurred, with some schools putting greater stress on the culti-vation of physical practices, and others on the cultivation of moremental ones. More specifically, Modern Postural Yoga (MPY) devel-oped a stronger focus on the performance of asana (yogic postures)and pranayama (yogic breathing), while Modern Meditational Yoga(MMY) mainly relied on techniques of concentration and meditation.

Typically, both MPY and MMY stress the orthoperformative sideof participation within a limited 'classroom' or 'session' type frame-work. This may extend to special courses and retreats for the morecommitted or advanced practitioners. Relatively pure examples ofMPY schools are lyengar Yoga and the so-called Astanga Yoga ofPattabhi Jois. Relatively pure examples of MMY groups found inBritain are (early forms of) Transcendental Meditation (TM)8, thecentres established by Sri Chinmoy and some modern Buddhistgroups (regarding the latter see note 27, Chapter 2).

From the doctrinal point of view both MPY and MMY tend tolimit themselves to very basic and polyvalent suggestions concerningthe religio-philosophical underpinnings of their practices. Committed

, More recently, TM seems to have been veering towards Denominational forms (seebelow).

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Table 3 Typology of Modern Yoga

MODERN YOGA(Vivekananda's Raja Yoga, 1896)

MODERN PSYCHOSOMATICYOGA (MPsY)

• Focus on practice(experiential epistemology)

• Few normative doctrinalrestrictions

• Privatized religion/culticmilieu

(Relatively pure contemporary types:Santa Cruz Yoga Institute;Kaivalyadhama at Lonavla;Sivananda and his disciples;Himalayan Institute (Sw Rama))

- MODERN DENOMINATIONALYOGA (MDY)

• Focus on Neo-guru(s) and onschool's own teachings

• Adherence to school's own beliefs,rules and sources of authority

• Cultic and/or sectarian, butactive links with cultic milieu

(Relatively pure contemporary types:Brahma Kumaris; Sahaja Yoga;ISKCON; Rajneeshism; late TM)

MODERNPOSTURAL YOGA

(MPY)• Greater stress on

physical practices(Relatively pure contemporarytypes: lyengar Yoga;P. Jois' Astanga Yoga)

MODERNMEDITATIONAL YOGA

(MMY)• Greater stress on

mental practices(Relatively pure contemporarytypes: early TM; Chinrnoy;some modern Buddhist groups)

engagement in intellectual reflection and evaluation of their ownheritage is not especially encouraged, and often lacking. The doc-trinal aspects of the teachings are mostly rudimentary, the generalunderlying assumption being that understanding will come throughfirst-hand experience rather than from intellectual deliberation. As inVivekananda's Raja Yoga, the key epistemological presuppositionsare experiential here, and practitioners are mostly left to make senseof the received theories and practices, and of how these should befitted into their lives, on the basis of their own rationalizations. The

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latter, as fieldwork data show, are generally shaped by the religio-philosophical assumptions characteristic of New Age religion.

By and large, most MPsY schools group themselves in the type ofassociative forms that sociologists of religions define as 'cultic'. As wesaw in Chapter 1, this means that they tend to be individualistic andloosely structured (especially as far as sources of authority are con-cerned), they place few demands on members, they are tolerant,inclusivist, transient, and have relatively undefined social boundaries,fluctuating belief systems and relatively simple social organizations.

Modern Denominational Yoga (MDY), on the other hand, was alater development that seems to have got fully underway only duringthe 1960s with the appearance of more ideologically engaged Neo-Hindu gurus and groups that incorporated elements of Modern Yogateachings. While retaining active links with the cultic milieu fromwhich many of their recruits come, these groups have more markedsectarian tendencies: collectivist and more tightly structured, theymake more demands on members, and have more stable belief andorganizational systems which often result in more intolerant and/orexclusivist attitudes than is the case with MPsY. MDY groups drawfrom the whole range of Modern Psychosomatic, Postural and Medi-tational forms of yoga in whichever way suits them. Contrary to MPsYand its sub-branches, however, they have not been instrumental inshaping, defining and elaborating more 'mainstream' forms of ModernYoga theory and practice, and yoga is not their primary concern.

As with all typologies, the one just discussed also fails to mirror thecomplexities of real-life situations and must therefore be understoodas a heuristic device. Modern Yoga types will and do overlap whenobserved in the field.9 As one would expect, however, there is anespecially strong level of compatibility between Postural and Medi-tational groups as the two sets of practices can easily be seen ascomplementary. It should also be stressed that the present typologydoes not include those Indian schools of Modern Yoga active only inIndia and through the medium of local languages.10 It does, however,include those Indian schools that rely mainly on the English languagefor the diffusion of their teachings, and which also have centres, or atleast significant contacts, abroad.

9. Such overlaps are further discussed, though not extensively, in De Michelis (1995).10. These have developed their own specific discourses and social structures and, in some

cases, close links with Indian political and socio-religious movements. For studies inthis area see Alter (1997 and forthcoming).

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The development of Modern Postural Yoga: 1950s to date

Having explained the ways in which various sub-groups of ModernYoga differ, we shall now proceed to draw a historical sketch of themain developments of MPY from about 1950 onward. Specificexamples will be drawn from the British situation, but, as mentionedearlier, overall patterns will be found to be rather similar throughoutthe English-speaking world.

With regard to types of MPY, the two most influential schools inBritain are lyengar Yoga (after the name of its founder, B. K. S.lyengar), which started to be propagated in Britain from 1954, andthe British Wheel of Yoga (BWY), established in 1962 by Westernindividuals interested in yoga. Since the early 1990s, Pattabhi Jois'Astanga Yoga (and its offshoots) has also been gaining in popularity,aided in part by the highly visible acrobatic and aesthetic qualities ofits practice. Considering that the BWY acts as an umbrella organi-zation validating a number of smaller schools (for example ViniyogaBritain and the Scottish Yoga Teachers Association), it is estimatedthat these schools currently provide about 80 to 85 per cent of thePostural Yoga teaching currently taking place in the UK, with Jois'style being smaller and less institutionalized than the other two. Theleftover 15 to 20 per cent of the teaching is carried out by individualsor centres teaching other styles of yoga independently, such as Siva-nanda Yoga, Dru Yoga, and so on (own field data).

Though very different in many respects, the British Wheel of Yogagrew alongside the lyengar School and in somewhat parallel ways.Precise statistics are not available, but fairly detailed data provided bythe schools themselves in 1993 suggest that in terms of numeric andgeographical spread the two institutions were on a more or less equalfooting at the time.11 Since then, the 1995 recognition of the BWY as

11. For numbers and other data relating to Britain see below.Continental Europe also has lively Modern Yoga communities. Modern Yoga was

suppressed in East European countries before 1989, but after this date it has attractedsubstantial public interest and support (own field data). All in all, however, per capitadensity of practice is likely to be lower on the continent than in Britain. Across Europe,density is also likely to be greater in urban areas (informed guesses based on own fielddata).

Concerning the USA, a Roper poll commissioned by Yoga Journal (a popular NorthAmerican Modern Yoga magazine) in 1994 revealed that "over six millions (about 3.3per cent of the population) practice [sic] yoga ... [C]lose to 17 million more - or about1 in 10 - are 'interested in yoga,' although they haven't tried it yet" (Yoga JournalEditors 1994: 47).

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ruling body for yoga by the British Sports Council (lyengar Yoga and theBWY were the only two schools competing for the title) has strength-ened its position in Britain. Possibly in part as a result of this defeat,British lyengar Yoga underwent something of a management crisisduring the latter half of the 1990s. It seems, however, to have emergedfrom it undamaged and with renewed dynamism (own field data).

Current fieldwork data still suggest that the two schools wield acomparable amount of influence in yoga circles. lyengar Yoga ben-efits from wider international representation, and more lyengar thanBritish Wheel students engage in yoga on a full-time basis, thusbecoming active agents of propagation. Furthermore, this school hasa unified system of practice which makes it potentially more adap-table to the requirements of other professional bodies, especially inthe fitness and medical domains, whether alternative or conventional.

The BWY, on the other hand, has gained important national statusthrough its association with the Sports Council, has a more flexibleand varied, if at times somewhat unfocused, approach to practice,and gives more scope to theoretical speculation in its teaching andteacher training courses. It can also accredit smaller schools of yoga,which are then grouped under its aegis. All these characteristics arelikely to attract as much interest and commitment, in Britain, aslyengar Yoga does.

Most of the longer-established Postural Yoga schools in the UKhave gone through similar developmental phases from the 1950sonwards. These are: Popularization (1950s to mid-1970s), Con-solidation (mid-1970s to late 1980s) and Acculturation (late 1980s todate). Briefly, these three phases may be characterised as follows:

Popularization: 1950s to mid-1970s

• The earlier slow spread turns to fast popularization: numerousschools and teachers (Indian and non-Indian) appear on thescene.

• Substantial media attention is given to yogic disciplines: numer-ous popular books and some successful television programmesfacilitate the circulation of information on the subject.

• Yoga classes become popular: some are run by Adult Educationauthorities, others are run privately by teachers.

• The wave of "hippy" travel to India peaks: it leads many to moreor less in-depth contact with yogic practices and ideas.

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• GURUS: As the schools are smaller, interaction with teacherstends to be more frequent and personal. In some cases, custom-made teachings can be imparted. The charismatic qualities of theteachers can be deployed to full advantage. Sociological, eco-nomic and psychological conditions are ripe for the more sec-tarian MDY groups to develop.

• FIGURES: In 1970 Howard Kent, a well-known figure in Britishyoga circles,12 conducts a survey of Postural Yoga practitioners inthe UK: he estimates that there are about 30,000 (Kent 1993: 15).

Consolidation: mid-1970s to late 1980s

• Many schools and teachers fall into oblivion, but popularizationis achieved. The surviving schools start a process of consolidationconsisting in the establishment of more substantial and perma-nent institutional structures or in expanding the existing ones.Teacher training courses are standardized and teaching qualifi-cations are awarded.

• The surviving schools achieve a certain degree of maturity, whichreflects in the progressive development of distinctive practices: anumber of schools show increased levels of specialization andtechnical elaboration. Below the Indian-inspired terminology andimagery, religio-philosophical elaborations of MPY schools alignthemselves more and more with, and in turn reinforce, those ofthe New Age movement. Reflecting this trend, which assimilatesModern Yoga to alternative medicine concerns, the main UKyoga magazine changes its name from Yoga Today to Yoga andHealth (late 1980s).

• The schools start to explore in more depth, and to standardize thevarious possible practical applications of yoga: sports and keep-fit; stress management; medical therapy and prevention (bothphysical and psychological); perinatal yoga; yoga for children, theelderly and the handicapped; yoga practice for convicts; yoga asapplied to creative artistic expression (such as dance or photo-graphy); etc.

• GURUS: Indian teachers tend to be honoured and revered, but,because of the growing size of the schools, contacts with thembecome more impersonal and diluted. Differentiations between

12. Howard Kent founded the Yoga for Health Foundation at Ickwell Bury, Biggleswade,Bedfordshire (UK) in 1976.

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core members and more marginal followers emerge and aresometimes reflected in institutional hierarchies. More complexand stratified power dynamics develop within the groups.

Acculturation: late 1980s to date

• Several institutions grant official or unofficial recognition to yogaschools. The BWY is recognized by the Department for Educationas awarding body for vocational qualifications (1992), then bythe Sports Council as the ruling body for yoga practice in the UK(1995). Postural Yoga is accepted by many as a useful form ofcomplementary medicine: it is not rare for GPs to recommend iton a number of accounts. The British Health Education Authoritydescribes and recommends Postural Yoga practice in its leafletspromoting keep-fit routines and healthy lifestyles.13

• The schools reorient themselves along the lines suggested byfeedback received from participants, the public and society atlarge (perceived needs, commercial considerations, standardsrequired for official recognition, etc.): this brings about anincreased professionalization of yoga teaching, a stronger ten-dency towards technical specialization, standardization and/orinstitutionalization, and renewed efforts to cover efficiently andpropagate the more immediately practical applications of thepractices. This is reflected in the appearance of many specializedpublications.14 It also results in further secularization as far as themore 'public' face of MPY is concerned. Religio-philosophicalelaborations along esoterico-occultistic New Age lines never-theless continue to be standard in most MPY milieus.

• GURUS: Some of the leading MPsY Western teachers of the newgeneration establish their leadership more on grounds of high-level professionalism and technical specialization than of 'spiri-tual' charisma or religious knowledge. Explicit or implicit criti-cism of Indian-style gurus, at times perceived as authoritarian,

13. See, for example, two booklets published by the Health Education Authority itself(1990; 1995). In the first one yoga is recommended as a convenient form of exercisebecause "There are lots of [yoga] classes available" (1990: 21), while the secondmentions yoga as form of exercise suitable for all (1995: 9, 10).

14. Some examples: medical and therapeutic, Schatz (1992); stress control and prevention,Lasater (1995); yoga for pregnancy, Freedman and Hall (2000); senior yoga, Stewart(1995); everyday keep-fit, Friedberger (1991); yoga for children, Stewart and Phillips(1992).

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emerges in some cases. Even though the guru-sisya model is oftenreferred to, what one finds at grassroots level is more akin toclient-professional or client-therapist relations, with only a tingeof 'spiritual pupillage' overtones.

• FIGURES: On the basis of data provided to the Sports Councilby the two major Postural Yoga schools it has been worked outthat in the year 1992-93 yoga practitioners attending classes inBritain were likely to be in the region of 120,000, showing anincrease of about 300 per cent from 1970 (own field data). If onewere to include people who practise Postural Yoga on their ownor in classes run by other schools and people who practise othertypes of yoga, including MMY or specific forms of MDY, thetotal would be much higher. At the beginning of the twenty-firstcentury the popularity of Modern Yoga - now thoroughlyacculturated - is showing no sign of abating.15

The lyengar School of Modern Postural Yoga

The interpretative theories discussed so far will now be put to the testby being applied to the lyengar School of Yoga. As of today (2003),lyengar Yoga is arguably the most influential and widespread schoolof Modern Postural Yoga worldwide.16 It has a growing internationalnetwork of centres dedicated to the teaching of the lyengar methodand to the training of teachers. Its expertise in postural practice isrespected across Modern Yoga milieus worldwide,17 and lyengarYoga-inspired teachings (often mixed with others to a greater orlesser extent)18 are also propagated outside of the lyengar network

15. Hasselle-Newcombe (2002:1) reports a set of statistics which are of special relevance inthis context: a "Lexis-Nexis [Internet] search for 'y°8a' m UK Newspapers" revealedthat in 1980 there were 0 occurrences, followed by 25 in 1985, 104 in 1990, 403 in1995, 1,567 in 1999, 2,546 in 2000 and 3,675 in 2001. The years between the quotedones (the original source tabulates results year by year) show a steady, regular increase,and half way through 2002 the total was already significantly higher than half of the2001 total (ibid.).

16. lyengar Yoga is practised in most developed and urbanized milieus worldwide, andespecially so in English-speaking areas: from Australia to the Americas, from India toJapan, in East and Western Europe, as well as in smaller cultural enclaves such as whiteSouth Africa and Hong Kong.

17. Though over the years, and especially so in the past, this style of MPY has beencriticized for the allegedly fierce and at times challenging teaching style of some of itsrepresentatives.

18. Though this is frowned upon in 'purist' lyengar Yoga circles.

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proper. This MPY school also boasts a substantial literary outputauthored by at least three subsequent generations of teachers (lyengarhimself, his pupils, his pupils' pupils). Furthermore, it propounds aremarkably homogeneous system of theory and especially of practice(orthoperformance), a fact that becomes especially apparent whenthis style is compared to other schools of Modern Postural Yoga suchas the BWY.

The lyengar School has been chosen as the ideal case study ongrounds of wealth of written sources and of orthoperformativecoherence. lyengar Yoga schools and centres worldwide also have arelatively unified administrative nature insofar as all teaching quali-fications are ultimately sanctioned by the central lyengar YogaInstitute in Pune, India. The availability of historical records, ofexplicit theoretical formulations and of orthoperformative standardsagainst which developments, variations, dissent and other elabora-tions can be measured allows the analyst not only to clarify issuesconcerning the school itself, but also, by comparison, the onesrelating to a wider range of Modern Postural Yoga schools.

The present analysis is mainly (but in no way exclusively) based onknowledge of this school as operating in Britain and in India. Manyof the considerations and results that will transpire, however, may besaid to apply to lyengar Yoga practitioners and institutions world-wide and, in different ways and with some (more or less substantial)degree of adaptation, also to other MPY and MPsY schools.

B. K. S. lyengar: his life and work

lyengar was born of a Brahmin family in 1918 at Bellur.19 He grewup in the highly nationalistic atmosphere of the Indian Independencestruggle, and, while he never became involved in politics, he dididentify with contemporary Neo-Hindu values and discourses, espe-cially at the level of social and ethical orientation. At the more spe-cific religious level, however, he always remained deeply attached tohis religion of birth, South Indian Srlvaisnavism. Yoga became part ofhis life from early on: one of his older sisters married their fellowSrlvaisnava Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Under fortuitous circum-stances, this man became lyengar's yoga guru.

Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) was a man of letters and an

19. Kolar district, now part of Karnataka State (ILW: 3).

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accomplished scholar. But while he held degrees in various branchesof Indian Philosophy20 from six different Indian universities (Dars1989: 6) and wrote numerous books in different languages (ViniyogaEditors 1989), the teaching that most affected his life was the traininghe received in the Himalayas for over seven years from the age oftwenty-eight onwards. His own yoga school and family traditionreport that for the duration of that training he resided with his tea-cher Rama Mohana Brahmachari at the foot of Mount Kailash, nearLake Manasarovar in Tibet. Upon leaving his teacher, Krishna-macharya was asked to take a vow which committed him to "teachand even preach yoga, but avoid making any professional use of hisknowledge or his diplomas in all the other branches of knowledge hehad studied" (ibid.: 5, author's translation).

lyengar lived with his brother-in-law from the age of sixteen up tothe time he moved to Pune, to become himself a professional yogateacher, three years later (1934 to 1937). It was also from Krishna-macharya that he received his upanayana initiation in 1935. Thesewere crucially formative years, during which lyengar learnt not onlythrough direct instruction as any pupil does, but also and maybe evenmore importantly through example, observation and the experiencesprovided by full-time residence in Krishnamacharya's household. Inthose days Krishnamacharya had just started running the yogasald("yoga hall") at the Palace of the Wodeyar family, the Maharajas ofMysore, which he ran from 1933 to 1950. He had previously taughtyoga at the Mysore Sanskrit Institute.

The Mysore princely family is known for having skilfully played itshand in the complex politics of growing nationalism (Manor 1977,Chapter 1). What is less well known is their long-standing patronageof yoga (Sjoman 1996), and their ongoing interest in, and support of,the East-West esoteric dialogue. Apart from running the Mysoreyogasald and liaising with other Modern Yoga institutions in thesubcontinent, the family also encouraged and sponsored influentialfigures such as Vivekananda (Williams 1974: 55-7), the writer ofesoteric bestsellers Paul Brunton (Godwin et al. 1990: 14-15), andSwami Yogananda of Autobiography of a Yogi fame (Yogananda1950), whom lyengar met at the Mysore Palace (ILW: 14).

20. His titles are listed above his portrait in lyengar's Light on Yoga (1984: 7), as follows:"Samkhya-yoga-Sikhamani-, Veda-kesari; Vedantavagisa; Nyayacharya-, Mimamsa-ratna:, Mimdmsa-thirtha" (transliteration as per original text).

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We mentioned Indian Modern Yoga institutions at the beginning ofthis chapter: the Yoga Institute at Santa Cruz, Bombay and theKaivalyadhama Shrimad Madhava Yoga Mandir Samiti at Lonavla.While the Yoga Institute's profile currently comes very close to that ofa community-cum-further-education and retreat centre, from itsbeginning Kaivalyadhama was (and is) especially committed tointegrating the scientific (quantitative and empirical) and the spec-ulative-scholarly study of yoga.21 Krishnamacharya was sent by theMysore Palace to observe this institution's work as early as 1934(ILW: 8, 14). While he never attempted to emulate Kaivalyadhama'sscientific approach, he did integrate Western physical fitness andtraining techniques in his practice and teaching, following in this amodern tradition already established by his princely sponsors (Sjoman1996).

lyengar's yoga practice developed at first within this framework,and after he moved to Pune the elaboration of what was by thenbecoming his own style of yoga was partly stimulated by, partlyformulated in reaction to, what he knew to be happening at theLonavla and the Bombay institutes (ILW: 49-51; Cushman 1997:91). If we consider that he was also interested in the teachings ofSwami Sivananda of Rishikesh (ILW: 55), who wrote many books onyoga and was very influential in Modern Yoga circles,22 it willbecome apparent that lyengar combined within himself influencesfrom all the main early formulations of MPY. In due course we shallalso hear about other influences, which only came to fruition later inhis life.

A key, early collaborator should, however, be mentioned here:lyengar's friend and supporter Dr Gokhale, MD, who also facilitatedhis relocation from Mysore to Pune. It was under his influence thatlyengar started using Western medical sciences in order to explainand propagate his style of yoga. The following quotation relates, inlyengar's own words, how this came about. It also highlights his lackof theoretical training:

21. Though its laboratories and testing facilities are now very out of date, and the sort offunds that would be necessary to carry out state-of-the-art scientific experimentation donot seem to be forthcoming (own field data). About these two institutions see Alter(2000, Part II; and, especially, forthcoming).

22. For studies on Sivananda, his historical context, the Modern Yoga movement heestablished, and the ways in which some of his disciples developed his teachings seeStrauss (1997; 2000; 2002a; 2002b; 2003).

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Doctor V.B. Gokhale ... was a great help to me. He used to give talks,and I used to give demonstrations. Because I could not speak on yoga,and I was not knowing philosophy. He said "The body is known tome. You leave it to me, I will explain very accurately. And you do theposes." Well, it was a really good combination ... and while he wasexplaining I started getting the anatomical words, which helped me agreat deal to develop my subject. (Quoted in Cushman 1997: 158)

Popularization

The ten years after lyengar moved to Pune (up to 1947) were a periodof intense practice and just as intense financial hardship, but heeventually managed to establish himself as a well-respected yogateacher in 1947. He held a number of regular yoga classes, gaveprivate instruction, and also performed yoga demonstrations foraudiences belonging to important professional bodies and institu-tions. By 1953 he had become instructor to the likes of J. Krishna-murti (more about this below), Jayaprakash Narayan, the "great Jainguru" Shri Badrankarji Maharaj and the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.The latter would also be instrumental in introducing him to Europe,to which lyengar would travel for the first time in 1954, then again in1956, when he also visited the USA.23 But the first nucleus of regularBritish lyengar Yoga practitioners was only created in 1960, againfollowing a teaching invitation from Yehudi Menuhin. BeatriceHarthan, a member of this early group, explains how this cameabout, and how events progressed from that date:

During [his 1960 visit] the Asian Music Circle made arrangements fora small group of people to be taught Yoga by Mr. lyengar ... The smallgroup grew in numbers with members from different parts of London.From this time on Mr. lyengar came from India every year to teach anever-growing number of students. His pupils started teaching...(Harthan 1987: 37)

Then, in 1966, lyengar's Light on Yoga (or LOY; see Figures 11and 12) was published. An instant bestseller, it immediately becamethe standard reference work on asana practice in Modern Yoga cir-cles all over the world. From the point of view of practice, two thingsmade this book outstanding: (1) the thorough, step-by-step, DIY typeof instruction, and (2) the obvious proficiency of the author in the

23. For these and more biographical details see GY (pp. 30-4).

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practice, teaching and practico-therapeutic applications of dsanas asrevealed, respectively, by the book's numerous photographs, by itsinstructions and practice plans, and by the suggested condition-rela-ted treatment programmes. In the mind of the public, this book cameat times to complement, but more often to supersede two earlier, verypopular publications which had been used as practice manualsor reference books by a growing number of practitioners: TheosBernard's Hatha Yoga (1982 [1944]) and Swami Vishnudevananda'sThe Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga (Vishnudevananda 1988[I960]).

On the institutional and teaching level, LOY turned out to be amilestone not only for the growth of the lyengar School, but also forthe development of MPY at large. As far as the lyengar School wasconcerned, it sanctioned and gave huge diffusion potential to thevigorous kind of instruction and training that lyengar had alreadystarted carrying out in person in India and in the West. As for MPY, itbrought the performance and teaching of dsana, on which MPY reliedso heavily, to new, impressive standards of completeness regardingrange of postural variation and performance proficiency. Thesestandards, furthermore, were for the first time presented so as tostand up to international scrutiny and appreciation. Bernard's book,while well researched and presented, was not acculturated enough togain bestseller status. Swami Vishnudevananda's manual came closerto having a more general appeal, but the author's performance ofdsanas lacked the qualities of precision, skilfulness and artistry thatpropelled lyengar to fame in the West.24 And while neitherVishnudevananda nor lyengar shone at handling the written word,lyengar received much stylistic and editorial help from professionallycompetent pupils and well-wishers.25

LOY^s publication was instrumental in establishing lyengar as ayoga teacher of international standing and repute. Indeed, the prac-tice and the teaching of dsana have always been lyengar's real pas-sion. There are good reasons for this. First of all, dsana practicechanged the course of his life by transforming him from a sickly

24. Vishnudevananda (1988 [I960]) is nevertheless still recognized as an MPY classic,while its postural shortcomings have been redressed in the Sivananda School's morerecent manual The Book of Yoga (Sivananda Yoga Centre 1993 [1983]). See DeMichelis (1995) for a more detailed comparison of various MPY schools' posturaltechniques.

25. See ILW (pp. 427-32), GY (p. 18), LOYSP (pp. xx-xxi).

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youth into a healthy and strong young man (GY: 1; ILW: 3, 8).Secondly, the practice and teaching of asana became his professionearly on in life. He started teaching when he was sixteen years old,and, as an orphan of humble family with no other qualifications, hehad no career prospects worth mentioning. Thirdly, his personalityhad a strong artistic and theatrical component. This led him toattempt to join a famous dance troupe at one point (ILW: 29-30),and to try to apply the concept of art fairly extensively in his inter-pretation of yoga.26 While he never became a dancer, he wouldeventually excel by single-handedly enthralling live audiencesworldwide. This he did by performing hundreds of "y°ga demon-strations" consisting of seamlessly interlinked sequences of dsanas,some highly acrobatic, which he would present along with a capti-vating running commentary without ever getting out of breath orbetraying any strain.27 Throughout his career lyengar has remained amaster of postural performance with great stage presence.

Consolidation

After the death of his wife Ramamani in 1973, lyengar had only onefocus left in his life: yoga (ILW: 79). Ramamani died shortly afterconducting the purificatory pujd for the land on which the futurelyengar Yoga Institute would stand, and the institution was even-tually named after her.

The Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) openedits doors at Pune in December 1975. This was a momentous event forthe lyengar movement: the school's founder had now a purpose-builtbase from which to propagate his teachings, and where pupils fromall over the world could come to study and train. This was especiallyimportant as, despite a certain amount of recognition within India,the lyengar method was mainly successful in the West28 or, to bemore specific, in English-speaking countries and communities. Before1975 "early enthusiasts [had] muddled along" by following lyengar

26. See especially AY, but this is a recurring theme in lyengar's work (though in no waypervasive).

27. Some of these performances are recorded on film and video.28. In a 1988 speech lyengar lamented that "outstanding people are kept standing out in

our country" (GY: 18). Since then, lyengar's merits have been recognized much morewidely in India. Most recently (2002) he has been the recipient of two prestigiousawards: The Padma Bhushan conferred by the Indian government to individuals whohave excelled in their field, and an honorary Doctorate in Literature from the TilakMaharastra Vidyapeeth (lyengar Yoga News 2002: 16).

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to his varied travel destinations, or by undergoing instruction in hiscramped family residence.29 More generally, the spread of lyengarYoga benefited from the explosion of interest in physical exerciseprompted by the 'fitness revolution' of the latter part of the 1970s(Stirk 1988: 12): at this time MPY started to be seen by even morepeople as a safe and balanced way to keep fit and improve well-being.

Another pervasive influence was that of New Age religion, which,around the mid-1970s, had become a self-conscious 'movement'(Chapter 1). We have repeatedly noted that Modern Yoga and NewAge religion developed in parallel and often intertwining fashion.This topic, and its effect on lyengar Yoga theory and practice, will bediscussed in more depth in the following chapter. All that will bepointed out now are the visible effects that these influences have hadon the more institutional aspects of lyengar Yoga. These are exem-plarily represented by the first (and key) official aim of the RIMYI:

1. To promote yogic education and impart yogic instruction for thedevelopment of and integration of human personality in all its aspects,physical, mental and spiritual, in accordance with the techniquesevolved and developed by the Director, Yogacharya B.K.S. lyengar,and as followed by associate Directors Miss Geeta and Mr. Prashant.30

As we see, New Age concepts of healing ("integration") and personalgrowth ("development") are by this stage of primary importance inlyengar Yoga, as in most other forms of MPY, while reference to thepersonalized 'techniques' or 'tools' so dear to modern esotericists andoccultists are also well in evidence.

Significantly, the official aims of the RIMYI are also adopted orintegrated as part of the 'Aims and Objectives' of other officiallyengar Yoga institutes and centres worldwide. The London lyengarYoga Institute, for example, which has played a prominent role in the

29. See Harthan (1985: 15); also see photographs in Perez-Christiaens (1976: betweenpages 96 and 97).

30. "The aim and objects of the Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga Institute" as widelyreproduced, including in the Members' Handbook of the B. K. S. lyengar Yoga Tea-chers' Association (BKSIYTA 1992: 19). Geeta and Prashant are lyengar's eldestchildren and, as the wording of the document clearly indicates, they too are expected tofollow closely in their father's footsteps. They have certainly done so throughout theConsolidation period, but new potentialities for power configurations have slowlystarted to emerge in the mid- and late 1990s. From the late 1990s, lyengar's daughterGeeta has taken over most of the international commitments that would in the pasthave been carried out by her father (own field data).

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history of the school, opened in 1983. It has "pledged to ensure thatonly Yoga teaching in a pure form according to the method of B.K.S.lyengar takes place on [its] premises", and teachers are further"required to practise and promote the work taught at the Ramamanilyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune" (lyengar Yoga Institute1988: 16).

The B. K. S. lyengar Yoga Teachers' Association (BKSIYTA;established 1977) shows a similar pattern of allegiance to Pune. Itsmandate is to co-ordinate communication among teachers, "[t]oassess applicants for Teaching Certificates, and to issue certificates— [which] are those of the Ramamani lyengar Memorial YogaInstitute".31 The Association also maintains "a national register ofapproved teachers" and "a list of approved teacher-training courses"(BKSIYTA 1992: 16). Its Constitution specifies that the BKSIYTA is"affiliated" to the Pune "Parent Institute", and that lyengar is itsPresident. Its foremost aims are: "a. To spread the teaching ofYogacharya B.K.S. lyengar and to maintain the teaching standard setby him", and "b. To support the aims and objects of the ParentInstitute" (ibid.).

The key elements that would allow the consolidation process tounfold and, eventually, to progress towards full Acculturation werenow in place: a network of institutionally structured and efficienttraining centres gravitating around the unquestioned authority of acharismatic leader, and a system of accreditation that would in duecourse produce the power structures of the lyengar movement and itsteaching hierarchies.

The Consolidation phase also sees a flourishing of lyengar orlyengar Yoga-related texts (i.e. written by senior pupils, admirers, orpeople otherwise inspired by lyengar's work).32 Of all the bookspublished in these years, however, Light on Pranayama (or LOP;1983 [1981]; see Figure 13) is the most authoritative. In LOY lyengar

31. The awarding of the very first official lyengar Yoga Teacher Certificates (to some oflyengar's South African students) took place in October 1975. The issuing of suchcertificates is another clear sign that the Consolidation period was starting.

32. At least twenty have come this writer's way without doing any special search orcarrying out specific enquiries, and surely there must be several more. Just to mentionthe ones cited in this book: Perez-Christiaens (1976); LOP [1981]; Smith and Boudreau[1981]; AY [1985]; ILW [1987]. A concise edition of LOY was also first publishedduring the Consolidation period (in 1980) thus making this seminal text even morewidely available.

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had interpreted the yoga tradition in careful, tentative and imperso-nal fashion. In LOP, however, older influences finally come to thefore, namely the early contacts he had with Indian representatives ofNeo-Vedantic esotericism. Judging by his biography and by his styleof writing and address, among the most formative ones are Sivanandaof Rishikesh and, most of all, Jiddu Krishnamurti.

From a chronological point of view these influences were exercisedwell before the Consolidation period. Up to 1975, however, lyengarwas mainly busy elaborating and propagating his style of yogapractice. It was only after LOY's success, the establishment of theRIMYI and the attainment of professional and personal maturity thatthese influences could emerge. We know that lyengar read Siva-nanda's books, attended some of the lectures that he gave in Pune in1950 and tried, unsuccessfully, to meet him (ILW: 55). Sivananda,however, bestowed on him the title of 'Yogi Raja' ("King of Yoga" orYoga Master) in 1952, after seeing a photographic album of lyengar'sasanas^ which the latter had sent him as a present (ibid.: 57).

As for Krishnamurti, he was probably the one who exerted thegreatest, if so far unacknowledged, intellectual influence on lyengar:lyengar had in fact personal and protracted contacts with him. As iswell known, Krishnamurti was the Theosophical Society's chosenmessiah. In the event, however, he rejected this role and went on todeconstruct systematically the whole concept of the authority of theteacher, although, somewhat ironically, he had to accept his new-found role of cultic milieu guru. He was bred (if not quite born)within the esoterico-occultist milieus that we have highlighted asformative to Modern Yoga, and he made the most of his knowledgeand background. lyengar - a totally different kind of person, but, asalready noted, a sensitive and receptive one - must have learned muchabout the unwritten laws regulating esoteric milieus from his new-found pupil and friend.

lyengar was thirty when he met Krishnamurti in 1948. The latterwas giving a three-month long series of discourses in Pune. lyengarattended most of them, and at some point a common friend intro-duced the two men. lyengar showed his yoga poses to Krishnamurti,then asked to see his asana practice and, tactfully, corrected it.Krishnamurti requested that lyengar teach him yoga,33 and tuition"continued for the next 20 years" (GY: 31, under 1948; ILW: 49). At

33. ILW: 48 and GY: 31. GY: 14, however, states that the two met in 1946.

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first lyengar did not realize that Krishnamurti was internationallyfamous: "As I did not read books or papers, I was not aware ofpersonalities or world events", but he now witnessed how his fellowSouth Indian had a substantial following, numbers of which came tohis talks (GY: 14; ILW: 48). According to lyengar himself, Krish-namurti taught him to think more independently:

... I learnt something from him. I should not be disturbed or swayed bythe opinions of others. For example, Yogis all over the world criticisedme for doing physical Yoga ... [But] I do not do yoga for other peo-ple's comments. Let them criticise as long as they like. I do for the sakeof doing and am keen to evolve in my practices. I am not keen to justifythat what I do is right... (G Y: 14-15)

This would indeed have been momentous input for a man struggling(like most Neo-Hindus in particular and countless modern indivi-duals in general) between the contradicting dictates of 'tradition' and'modernity'. The two men "used to discuss together, and developedan intimate relationship", and for periods of time, while travellingand teaching, they also shared the same quarters (ibid.: 15). lyengarwas mildly critical of Krishnamurti's 'deconstructionist' style ofaddress, feeling that it may "convey a negative meaning for a layperson" (ibid.). In at least one instance, however, he openly admits tohaving been inspired by Krishnamurti's talks for the language hewould use in his teaching (ibid.), and his rhetorical style is at timescuriously reminiscent of Krishnamurti's own.

It would seem quite safe to assume that Krishnamurti played aconsiderable (if unconscious) part in changing lyengar's mentalityso that he would feel free - and motivated - to switch from hisearlier mixture of traditionalism and Neo-Hindu ideas to more de-traditionalized, cultic milieu style theories and elaborations. The factthat lyengar had familiarized himself with the culture of the Anglo-Indian cultic milieu within which Krishnamurti operated probablyalso paved the way for easier, more successful relations with Menu-hin when he met him in 1952, as well as with the many Westernstudents with whom he would eventually associate. Without suchcultural input and individual contacts, lyengar Yoga may not haveflourished in the same way it has done.

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t6. TWENTIETH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS OF MODERN YOGA

Acculturation

And flourish it did. By 1990 the Mehtas, senior British lyengar Yogateachers, could report that " [lyengar] has several million students allAover the world following his method. There are lyengar Institutes andcentres in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, NewZealand, South Africa and the USA, as well as India" (Mehta, S. et al.1990: 9; see also G Y: 105-26). Like a number of other Modern Yogagroups, lyengar Yoga was becoming fully 'globalized' by the 1990s.This went hand in hand, unsurprisingly, with a process of accul-turation. We shall briefly look at two aspects of this phenomenon: theparticipation of the British lyengar Yoga movement in the process ofselection of a 'ruling body' for yoga on the part of the UK SportsCouncil, and lyengar's support of the professionalization of MPYteaching not only as a way to make a living, but as a comprehensiveway of life.

By the 1990s MPY had undoubtedly become part of everydayBritish life, and was regarded, at least by some, as a fairly mainstreamleisure activity or as a form of 'sport' rather than as an esoteric orreligious pursuit.34 This was recognized by the Sports Council, whichproposed to elect a national ruling body for yoga. Interestingly, aprevious attempt to do so (in the 1970s) had failed: obviously MPYwas not ready to gain such a degree of official recognition.

As the time to discuss with the Sports Council approached, Britishlyengar Yoga groups started to devise a common strategy. The Lighton Yoga Association (LOYA) was set up in 1988 to co-ordinate thework of existing lyengar Yoga institutes and centres, and to promotethe formation of new ones throughout the country.35 One of the mainmotivations behind its foundation, however, had been the need to

34. For example, I had occasion to carry out brief unstructured interviews with CambridgeUniversity first-year students interested in taking up the practice of yoga in 1996, 1997and 1998. In many instances their parents had been (or were) yoga practitioners, whichis why they were thinking of taking up yoga at all. They regarded yoga (that is, MPY)as an essentially health- and wellbeing-related pursuit and, tellingly, several of themwere surprised at finding out that yoga was an acquired taste in the West, and that itoriginates from India.

It will also be noted that MPY associations were listed under 'sports' in University ofCambridge Student Societies' directories throughout the second part of the 1990s. Sucha categorization never elicited any surprise or comment from the general public or frommore or less committed practitioners of MPY.

35. LOYA and BKSIYTA have since merged into a unified association. The latter waslaunched in June 2003 under the name lyengar Yoga Association of the United King-dom, or IYA (UK).

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establish a national institution which could compete with the BritishWheel of Yoga (BWY) in the bid to become the Sports Council'srecognized ruling body. This prompted the creation of a substantialnumber of lyengar Yoga Institutes throughout the UK. While the veryfirst British lyengar Yoga Institute had opened in Manchester in1972, quite independently of this later acculturation drive, by 1988the number of Institutes in Britain had risen to three, and by the mid-1990s there were twelve (Ward 1994: 8-9). After protracted nego-tiations (1991 to 1995) with the Sports Council and the BWY,however, the BWY eventually won the battle, and was recognized asthe British ruling body for Yoga by the Sports Council (under the sub-heading of 'Movement and Dance') in August 1995. Despite nothaving gained official recognition, this process had strengthened thefoundations of the movement within the UK: now lyengar Yogacould present itself as an institution with a coherent national profile.

Over time, national networks, centralized teacher training proce-dures and more or less formalized adaptations to local conditionshave become of central interest to lyengar Yoga institutions world-wide. Such endeavours allow them not only to survive, but to growand develop. B. K. S. lyengar, in his own way, has been responding tothese trends. The story of his life shows that he is in no way businessminded or greedy. He does, however, support the professionalizationof yoga, and has attempted, in the light of his own experiences, todefine an ethos of yoga teaching as a way of life. A number of seniorlyengar Yoga teachers met during fieldwork confirmed that theyfollow lyengar's lines here, thus justifying their profession to them-selves and to society at large.

We find this concept clearly expressed in lyengar's Light on theYoga Sutras of Patanjali (or LOYSP 1993; see Figure 14), a trans-lation and commentary of the central text of Classical Yoga, and themost important text of the lyengar school in the Acculturation per-iod.36 Here lyengar attempts what may be regarded as a quintes-sentially Neo-Hindu manoeuvre, viz. to combine Western concepts ofprofessional development, the Brahmo Puritan ethic of self-support,and the classical Hindu scheme of the four varnas (social "classes") -though with the ultimate intent of adapting MPY practice andteaching to polyvalent, globalized conditions. In the relevant passage

36. lyengar's latest book was published in 2001 (lyengar 2001). Rather than establishingany new trend, it is best described as an expansion and updating of LOY-type themes.

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lyengar states that the pupil who begins the practice of his style ofMPY "has to sweat profusely in body and brain to get a grasp of i t . . .This is sudra dharma." Then comes vaisya dharma "when one con-sciously sets out to accumulate experience in order to teach, so as toearn a living". This will be followed by "sadhana ... of the ksatriya",when one builds up courage and expertise, strives to develop the artand "gains the authority to share one's knowledge and experience".Finally, if one achieves union with the "Universal Spirit (Paramat-mari), and surrenders to Him in word, thought and deed, one is abrakmana in yogic sadhana" (LOYSP: 267).

We see from the developments described above how MPY (lyengaror otherwise) was progressively adapted to the spirit of modernityand secularization. In the next chapter we will look more specificallyat parallel developments in lyengar Yoga theory and practice. Thiswill be done through analysis of textual evidence.

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7. Theory and practice oflyengar Yoga

When one rests on the vision of the soul, divinity is felt in this empirical state.(B. K. S. lyengar LOYSP: 26)

lyengar's Modern Yoga trilogy

This chapter is based on an analysis of lyengar's three main books onyoga: Light on Yoga (or LOY; 1966), Light on Prandydma (or LOP;1981) and Light on the Yoga Sutras ofPatanjali (or LOYSP; 1993).1AAAAAThis trilogy may be considered paradigmatic for the purposes ofshowing the characteristics and ideological range of Modern PosturalYoga (MPY) as it evolved through the three developmental phasesdescribed in the previous chapter. All three books contain the threemain conceptual frameworks found in most MPY elaborations, but,significantly, emphases and the ways they are expressed changethrough different periods. The three elements are (a) the Neo-Vedantic layer, (b) the Harmonial (Metaphysical and mesmeric)layer, both of these layers appropriating elements of hathayoga, and(c) the more personal religio-philosophical approach added on byeach teacher.

In lyengar's case the Neo-Vedantic layer is mainly found in thesocial and ethical, this-worldly orientation of his teachings, and in theoccasional attempts to link them to 'scientific' knowledge, theories orsimiles. The Harmonial layer is the conceptual filter used to interpretand to elaborate practices, and because practices ('techniques', 'sys-

1. See Figures 11-14 for reproduction of pages.

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7. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF IYENGAR YOGA

terns') are so prominent in MPY, this layer is very prominent. As timegoes by, lyengar's Harmonial interpretations align themselves moreand more with the New Age leanings of his pupils' milieu. Finally hismore personal contribution is an element of mainstream devotion-alism and theism, deriving from the diffused religiosity of his nativebackground, which makes him very receptive to the teachings of theBhagavad Gitd. This includes, importantly, the Gitd's rendition ofthe concept of yoga, quite different from the ways in which yoga isinterpreted in the Yoga Sutras.

With regard to differences of emphasis over time, we see that LOY(1966) is, quantitatively speaking, pre-eminently practical and gen-erally humble in tone. It is also rather cautious and impersonal in itsexposition of theoretical doctrines and beliefs. Essentially, LOYabsorbs the surrounding Neo-Vedantic ethos, and retransmits it. Theonly difference from other yoga books is that lyengar has beenworking hard and in peculiarly focused fashion at practising andteaching dsanas for over three decades and he is, as it were, reportingon this work.

In LOP (1981) what has emerged as the lyengar style of Yoga, i.e.a modernized form of hathayoga, is assimilated to occultist Harmo-nial thinking, now in the New Age version of healing and personalgrowth philosophy. The marriage of hathayoga and Harmonialthinking that Vivekananda had tentatively initiated now becomes anaccomplished fact, and the standard form of MPY. In this sense too,apart from the more tangible institutional sense described in theprevious chapter, we witness a progressive consolidation of this dis-cipline.

Completing his trilogy of MPY classics, lyengar publishes LOYSPin 1993. As we saw in the previous chapter, this is the key book ofthe Acculturation period, a time of further expansion but also of newchallenges and internal revisions. For lyengar himself, now enteringhis seventies, this is also a natural time of reflection and of searchingdeeper into the subject to which he has dedicated his life. LOYSP is abold attempt to co-ordinate and bring together the somewhatdivergent and definitely diverse MPY ideological strands delineatedabove. As in LOP, the New Age presuppositions and the "Self-realization" theme are quantitatively most apparent in this text.These tenets are essential to the justification and shaping of a fullyacculturated lyengar Yoga, which now proceeds to assimilate the

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meditative samyama disciplines into its orthopractical scheme. Thetheistic and devotional approach, based on lyengar's nativeSrlvaisnavism, however, emerges as the one closest to his heart.Interpreted through the Neo-Vedantic filter - also part oflyengar's original background - this approach emerges in what wemay call a Neo-Srlvaisnava form. But, mindful of the "moderndisquietude concerning traditional religious authority" (Fuller1989: 119-20), lyengar refrains from forcing his convictions onanyone. Thus he tones down this more traditional theistic and dev-otional theme, and fits it at the margins and in (important) interstitialspaces of the text.

Apart from providing interesting evidence in relation to thedevelopment of the lyengar School and to modern and contemporaryforms of yoga, this trilogy provides us with fascinating insights aboutthe ways in which religious practices and beliefs are moulded by thehuman beings through which they are transmitted, the transmitters inturn being moulded by specific historical and cultural circumstances.In order to appraise better the conceptual steps involved in suchtransformations, let us now turn to a more detailed examination ofthese texts and of their relation with lyengar Yoga theory andpractice.

Light on Yoga (1966): the Popularization period

As already stated, the centrepiece of lyengar Yoga is the theory andpractice of dsana. Asana was lyengar's way into yoga, and it hasremained his speciality. As an American travel guide to 'spiritualIndia' states, lyengar

is probably the most famous hatha yogi in the world. For thousands ofstudents the photographs of him in Light on Yoga - his illustratedBible of yoga postures - are the ultimate standard for asana practice.And his precise, scientific approach to alignment and form haverevolutionized the way yoga is taught in the West. (Cushman and Jones1999: 221)

By the time LOY came to be written, lyengar had invested muchtime and energy in what he had come to regard as his mission: the

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popularization of yoga.2 LOY's huge commercial success onlystrengthened his resolve in this direction. As far as the practice oflyengar Yoga is concerned, compared to what went on earlier in theworld of MPY, LOY played a major role in standardizing anddemystifying (from a Western or Neo-Vedantic point of view) thepractice of Postural Yoga.

LOY was written, essentially, in DIY-manual form. We saw thatthis type of textual approach, based on the modern 'self-help' ethos,had become increasingly successful among the American and moregenerally English-speaking public from the first part of the nineteenthcentury onward. lyengar further succeeded in presenting the topic ofyogic dsanas in a thoroughly modern way thanks to the use ofmedical and anatomico-physiological models. As he himself states,his main aim in LOY is "to describe as simply as possible the asanas... and pranayamas ... in the new light of our own era, its knowledgeand its requirements" (LOY: 13). Importantly, LOY (along withlyengar's "Yoga Demonstrations") also created in the Western publican awareness of the acrobatic and artistic potential of posturalpractice. These developments opened up spaces for the aestheticappreciation of asanas, something quite novel in the field of yoga.LOY's popularity played a major role in raising postural practicestandards to higher levels of performance: lyengar's manual becamethe acknowledged point of reference in the sense that no MPYpractitioner or school could afford to ignore its existence.

MPY practice as psychosomatic self-help

The most notable and MPY-specific developments in LOY, however,take place under the influence of medical, physical culture and fitnessapplications. These are not (yet) theorized as fully-fledged inter-pretations of yoga, but are expanded and elaborated in such a waythat MPY starts to emerge as the ultimate system of psychosomaticself-help. Yoga can then be seen as a comprehensive tool for self-improvement and healing, potentially suitable for self-ministration intotal autonomy from institutional and societal control, purely on thebasis of individual choice, taste or need.

LOY comprises three main parts, plus appendices, a glossary and

2. In a 1977 feature, for example, he stated: "When I was first introduced to the West in1954 by Yehudi Menuhin, I began to sow the seeds of Yoga and today I am proud to saythose seeds have grown into a forest ..." (ILW: 84).

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an index. Part I consists of a theoretical introduction (see next sec-tion). Part II, covering about four-fifths of the book, is dedicated todsana (see below), while Part III gives a brief outline of prdndydmatechniques, a subject that lyengar will develop in much greater depthin LOP. Part II on dsana is further complemented by Appendix I,giving the details of a graded dsana course covering all the posturesdescribed in the book, and by Appendix II, giving a list of "CurativeAsanas for Various Diseases". Here lyengar's exposition of posturalpractice is detailed, systematic and comprehensive enough not only tosatisfy, but to impress Western audiences. He presents each dsana asfollows (see also Figures 11 and 12):

(a) NAME: the Sanskrit name of the posture is given and the meaningof the words, the symbolism of the name and sometimes therelated mythology are explained. A brief description of the pose isusually given. Each dsana's difficulty is represented by a starrednumber from 1 to 60, 1 being the simplest.

(b) TECHNIQUE: this section provides a step-by-step description of eachdsana's execution. Detailed anatomical movements and breathingpatterns are specified. Typical mistakes or limitations oftenencountered by beginners are pointed out and addressed.

(c) EFFECTS: the physical, physiological and psychological effects ofeach pose are described. Curative and preventive effects are alsolisted. Variations of the posture may be prescribed for beginnersor for specific conditions. Cautions are given specifying when aposture should not be practised. Quotations from yogic texts andtheoretical explanations may be given either under (a) or (c).

(d) ILLUSTRATION(S): each pose is illustrated by one or more photo-graphs.

Throughout most of Part II of the book, lyengar substantiates thevalue and effectiveness of dsanas in pure MPY style by discussingtheir effects mainly in terms of Western medical knowledge and fit-ness training. One pose "relieves backaches and neck sprains" (LOY:64), while another "cures impotency and promotes sex control"(ibid.: 173). We find out that "by doing [a certain] posture theabdominal organs are exercised and gain strength" (ibid.: 266), orthat "[t]he minor muscles of the arms will be developed and toned bythe practice of [another] pose" (ibid.: 282). Specific fitness needs arealso addressed: a certain pose "is recommended for runners" (ibid.:

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330 Light on Yoga

433

158, /)«*/ PHild K(>MitjmyiiMtit.t Twenty- two* f Plate 458'!

Dwi PaUa ;dwi two or both; pada leg or tool) means both feet,Koundinya was a sage belonging to the family of Vasistha and founded

the Koundinya Gotra (sect). This isana is dedicated 10 him.

1. Perform Salambi Sirsasana If. Plate 192,-

2. Exhale and lower the legs straight together umil they are parallelto the floor, (Plate 434. ) Pause here and take a few breaths,

434

3. Exhale, turn the trunk slightly to the right and move both legssideways to the right, ; Plate 435,, Lower both legs together over theright arm su that the outer side of the left thigh above the knee restson the back of the upper right arm as near the armpit as possible. ; Plate436

Figure 11 Reproduction of pages 330-1 from B. K. S. lyengar's Light on Yoga.Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © B.K.S. lyengar 1966

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Technigque


214

435

436

37


332 Li%ht ow Yoga

4, Balance and take u few breaths. Then exhale and firmly pressingiiown both palms to the floor, lift the head off the floor, Plate 43-.Then raise the trunk and stretch the neck. Plate 438. This is thefinal position in which the legs will he in the air almost parallel tothe floor, while Joe to the twist of the trunk, breathing wil l be last .Balance as long as you can from 10 to 20 seconds. Greater pressurewill he felt on the left shoulder and arm which are apparently tree.

5, Bend the knees, rest the head on the floor and again go op toSalumba Sirsasana I I . Rest here for a while and repeat the asana onthe left side as described above, reading left for right and vice versa.Here the right thigh wil l rest on the back of the upper left arm. Slayfor the same length of time on both sides, Go up to Sirsasana again,

6. To complete the pose* either lower the legs to the floor and relaxor do Vrdhva Dhanurasana Plate 486 and stand up in Tadasana.Place i. When one has mastered Viparifa Chakrasana 'Plates 488

to 499.% this exercise is exhilarating after l/rdhva Ohanurasana.

The pose tones the abdominal organs. The colon moves properly andtoxins therein are eliminated. If requires experience to balance withthe legs well stretched. The spine will become more elastic due to thelateral movement and the neck and arms will become more powerful,

1 59, Hka Pada KoundniVit^ma / Twenty-three* Plate 441 )Hka means one. Pada means a leg or foot. Koundinya is flu* name of asage.

Figure 12 Reproduction of pages 332-3 from B. K. S. lyengar's Light on Yoga.Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. © B.K.S. lyengar 1966

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438

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1, Perform Salamba Sirsasana I I . (Plate 1921

2, Bxhaie, lower the legs straight together until they are parallel to thefloor, ; Plate 434.) Pause here and take a few breaths/

3, Exhale, bend the legs and move the left leg sideways to the right.Place the left leg over the back of the upper right arm so that the outerside of the left thigh above the knee rests as near the right armpit aspossible. - Plate 439.) Take a few breaths and balance.

4, Stretch the left leg straight sideways and the right leg straight back,c Plate 440.) Take two breaihs.

5. Hxhale, raise the head above the floor, extend the anus and balance onthe hands. Keep both legs straight and taut at the knees, 'Plate 441,'

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439

440


74), another "is beneficial ... for horsemen" (ibid.: 89), yet another"can be tried conveniently by the elderly" (ibid.: 88); and more wide-ranging human wishes are also catered for: practice of some postureswill "enable us to grow old gracefully and comfortably" (ibid.: 114),others will help "to keep one ... fresh and alert in mind" (ibid.: 403).Concerns over physical appearance are not forgotten: dsanas can beused "to reduce body weight" (ibid.: 85), "to reduce the size of theabdomen" (ibid.: 257), to make "the leg muscles more shapely andsturdy" (ibid.: 74). And all this in the comfort of one's own home andat no expense since yoga practice "requires no special apparatus orgymnasiums. The various parts of the body supply the weights andcounterweights" (ibid.: 282).

But one of the great attractions of the lyengar system to the modernmind rests on the fact that it develops these medical and fitnessthemes along even more detailed and comprehensive self-help lines.Instructions are given on how to use dsanas to combat stress,3 torecover more promptly after illness (ibid.: 216), to relieve as varied arange of conditions as depression and over-excitement (ibid.: 93) orconstipation (ibid.: 170). The effects of dsana practice are indeedremarkable and, it would seem, almost miraculous: "Continuouspractice will change the outlook of the practiser. He will disciplinehimself in food, sex, cleanliness and character and will become a newman" (ibid.: 60).4

Western practitioners could feel comfortable with following thebook's instructions. The tone of Part II on dsana is, in the main,down-to-earth, and the anatomico-physiological and medical lan-guage and descriptions are reassuring due to the familiar, 'scientific'terminology. References to hathayogic practices and models of thehuman being are sparse and 'impersonal' enough so that they can beconveniently ignored if one so chooses. Besides, the rather basichathayoga tenets and terminology employed in LOY were alreadyfairly commonplace by 1966, thus they added spice to the text andcould be linked up with more in-depth knowledge or teachings if thereader wished to. But in LOY lyengar seems to be more reportingon them than recommending or describing these practices from

3. "The stresses of modern civilisation are a strain on the nerves for which Savasana is thebest antidote" (ibid.: 424. Savasana or 'corpse pose' entails lying on one's back andstilling all sense and mental activity, but without falling asleep; see also section on "Theincorporation phase" in Chapter 8).

4. lyengar consistently employs the masculine gender to indicate both men and women.

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experience. The postural, medical and anatomico-physiologicalteachings, on the other hand, are presented in strong first-handexperiential tones. The visual impact of LOY is also remarkable, asthe book contains over 600 photographs of the author demonstratingthe over 200 postures and practices described.

As the above suggests, LOY follows on, from a certain point ofview, in the footsteps of earlier hathayoga texts: only the claimsconcerning the effects of the practices are expressed in contemporarylanguage and address contemporary needs and preoccupations. And,of course, as we saw in the preceding chapters, the social, religiousand institutional dimensions of MPY are very different from earlier,classical forms of yoga.

MPY theory in Light on Yoga

While LOY is replete with detailed practical explanations, the relatedMPY theory is only expressed in embryonic terms over relatively fewpages.5 Most of lyengar's formative influences and the three MPYtheoretical elements discussed at the beginning of the present chapterare, however, well in evidence.

Formative influences are seen in the range of texts quoted: lyengarrepeatedly refers (whether directly or indirectly) to classical texts suchas the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gltd and the Yoga Sutras.Hathayogic lore is also well represented, with numerous borrowingsfrom the Gheranda Samhitd, the Siva Samhitd and the Hatha YogaPradipikd. Puranic contributions are also found.6 Strong Neo-Vedantic influences are seen in quotations from Mahadev Desai(LOY: 19), Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (ibid.: 33), VinobaBhave (ibid.: 39, 50), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (ibid.: 117-18), andin echoes of Vivekananda's writings,7 in the use of Christian formulas

5. About 40 pages out of 544.6. While classical texts are mainly used to expound yoga philosophy throughout Part I

(LOY: 17-53), hathayogic references are found both in Part I and in the much lengthierAAPart II, treating the actual practice of asana. Puranic stories are mainly drawn upon inPart II to explain the name of asanas dedicated to ancient Indian sages.

7. For example, when lyengar mentions four main yoga mar gas ("yoga paths") as karma,bhakti, jnana and raja (ibid.: 22).

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and imagery,8 and of scientific similes inspired by Western appliedsciences.9 lyengar's own devotionalism and Visistadvaita-inspiredtheology are also relatively prominent in LOY, where 'God', the'Lord' or 'Creator' is often mentioned,10 while the Bhagavad Gitd isconsidered "the most important authority in Yoga philosophy"(ibid.: 19). A budding Harmonialism is also seen in lyengar's indi-vidualistically oriented elaborations of the concept of 'self (atman).11

When this happens, the focus shifts from an external God to the innerrealm of the practitioner. "The yogi," in fact, "does not look hea-venward to find God. He knows that HE [sic] is within, being knownas the Antaratma (the Inner Self)" (ibid.: 21). In this case the widerframework of yoga is also reinterpreted: rather than as a process ofsurrender (prapatti), yoga is now seen as the "the conquest of theSelf" (ibid.: 24).

Two specific aspects of Modern Yoga theory

Two theoretical teachings of LOY are worth commenting uponbecause they are central to almost all Modern Yoga elaborations: (a)that the practice of yoga should go hand in hand with the perfor-mance of voluntaristic 'good works', and (b) that 'self-improvement'is at the heart of yoga practice. These recommendations have nomatching counterparts in classical yoga and can therefore be singledout as distinctive characteristics of modern forms of yoga. The firstteaching may be seen to derive from Neo-Vedantic elaborations ofthe Puritan ethic, the second from a Metaphysically oriented psy-chologization of yoga.

8. As when lyengar uses the Commandments while discussing yoga philosophy ("Thoushalt not steal"; ibid.: 34; "Thou shalt not covet"; ibid.: 47), or when he describessamadhi as a state in which there is "peace that passeth all understanding" (ibid.: 52,436), or again when he recommends the sadhaka to pray with the words "Thy will bedone" (ibid.: 40).

9. "Brahmacharya is the battery that sparks the torch of wisdom" (ibid.: 35). For otherinstances see ibid.: 20, 51, 130, 141, 379, 425, 436, 439.

10. See, for example, ibid.: 19, 23, 25, 28, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 44.11. lyengar uses various translations for this key term: self (ibid.: 22, 38), Self (ibid.: 30, 33,

36, 117), inmost Self (ibid.: 49), human soul (ibid.: 30), individual soul (ibid.: 28)Supreme Soul (ibid.: 117, 440, and in Glossary: 515), spirit (ibid.: 44), Brahman (ibid.,in Glossary: 515). Not all occurrences of every term are listed. Cross-referencingbetween the text, the Glossary and the Index shows that this and other key terms aretranslated in varied and not always consistent ways.

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Neo-Vedantic ethics

About 'good works', LOY states:

Yoga is a method by which the restless mind is calmed and the energydirected into constructive channels. As a mighty river which whenproperly harnessed by dams and canals, creates a vast reservoir ofwater, prevents famine and provides abundant power for industry; soalso the mind, when controlled, provides a reservoir of peace andgenerates abundant energy for human uplift. (Ibid.: 20)

What we find here is a pragmatic and humanitarian interpretationof yoga, ultimately inspired by a Brahmo type of ethic and exem-plified in Vivekananda's conceptualizations of yoga as "PracticalReligion".12 A few pages on, two choices - traditional and modern,theistic and voluntaristic - are presented as equally valid alternatives:the reader is told that the yogi "cuts the bonds that tie himself [sic] tohis actions by dedicating their fruits either to the Lord or tohumanity" (LOY: 31, emphasis added). Similarly, while discussingthe term karund ("pity, compassion"), found in YS I. 33,13 lyengarstates that

[The yogi's] compassion [is] coupled with devoted action to relieve themisery of the afflicted. [He] uses all his resources - physical, economic,mental or moral - to alleviate the pain and suffering of others. Heshares his strength with the weak until they become strong. He shareshis courage with those that are timid until they become brave by hisexample ... He becomes a shelter to one and all. (LOY: 26)

This is far more proactive and voluntaristic than the Yoga Sutras orany of the classical commentaries on it enjoin and, like the previousquotations, shows the influence of a Vivekananda-style humanisticinterpretation of yoga.

12. See, for example, "Practical Religion: Breathing and Meditation" (CW 1: 513-21);and, of course, his famous concept of "Practical Vedanta" (CW 2: 289-358). As isalmost always the case in this kind of text, the technological simile is a sign of Neo-Hindu ideological derivation.

13. The sutra reads: maitri-karum-muditopek^mmsukha-duhkha-pu^dpuiâ-vi^ydmmbhdvandtas citta-prasddanam ||. In Yardi's translation (1979): "Through cultivation offriendship, compassion, joy and forbearance respectively towards the happy, the mis-erable, the virtuous and the wicked, the mind becomes purified."

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The concept of 'self-improvement'

More specifically linked to actual Modern Yoga theory and practiceis the second teaching. The 'self-improvement' theme can be exem-plarily illustrated by analysing lyengar's treatment of the concept ofsvddhydya. This Sanskrit term signifies the "reciting or repeating orrehearsing to oneself, repetition or recitation of the Veda" (Monier-Williams 1994 [1899]: 1277) and can be literally translated as "one'sown study", usually of Hindu sacred texts. In the ideal framework ofclassical India, such study was undertaken by all twice-born malesduring the brahmacarya (student) stage of life, and was enjoined onthe Brahmins as a lifelong task because of this group's traditional roleas preservers and transmitters of revealed texts.14 lyengar, however,interprets the word in typically modern fashion along individualisticand eclectically pluralistic lines:

Sva means self and adhyaya means study or educationJ15^ Education isthe drawing out of the best that is within a person. Svadhyaya,therefore, is the education of the self ... The person practising svadh-yaya reads his own book of life, at the same time that he writes andrevises it...

... it is essential to study regularly divine literature ... The sacredbooks of the world are for all to read. They are not meant for themembers of one particular faith alone. As bees savour the nectar invarious flowers, so the sadhaka absorbs things in other faiths whichwill enable him to appreciate his own faith better. (LOY: 38-9)

A couple of pages before he had rendered svddhydya as "study of theSelf" (ibid.: 36). Not surprisingly, these psychological universalisticinterpretations of yoga have found favour with esoterically andoccultistically inclined practitioners already accustomed to the lan-guage of Jungian and Transpersonal psychology. As we saw inChapter 5, rapprochements between yoga and the psychologicalsciences are already to be found in Rdja Yoga, and have been con-stantly explored ever since.16 Today, adaptations of yoga inspired by

14. For a general discussion of this question and for related bibliographical sources seeKlostermaier (1989: 342ff.).

15. Translating sva as 'self is correct, but turning 'self into a noun is not. Sva in this casemeans 'self in the sense of 'own'.

16. C. G. Jung's interest in oriental religions and more specifically in yoga is well known.Other examples of rapprochement are Coster (1935) and Mishra (1973).

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psychotherapy are encouraged in some British schools,17 and grass-roots elaborations along these lines are pervasive (own field data).Indeed, lyengar himself must have been mirroring the speculations ofexisting literature and the elaborations of his students when for-mulating these concepts.18

Another example, bringing together both of the themes discussedhere, is found in lyengar's treatment of the Sanskrit term upeksa,AAA"overlooking, disregard, negligence, contempt, ... endurance,patience" (Monier-Williams 1994 [1899]: 215). Upeksa is one of fourmeans recommended by Patanjali in YS I. 33 to attain "a calming ofthe mind" (cittaprasadana) by reacting in appropriate fashion to anumber of standard relational situations.19 As is usual in the sutrastyle, the passage is open to a number of interpretations. However,the main classical commentators show a rather unsentimentalapproach to the question. Vyasa points out that these means arerecommended in order to achieve an aim, which in turn will make thepractitioner progress on the yogic path.20 Vacaspati Misra echoes thesame argument by elaborating along the same utilitarian lines. KingBhoja is even more explicit: "All these conscientiously cultivatedattitudes have only one common purpose, viz. to prepare the groundfor effective concentration" (Ghosh 1980: 213). lyengar's attitude isquite different, and brings to mind Christian soul-searching andmodern guilt complexes rather than yogic cool-headed expediency:

Upeksa ... is not merely a feeling of disdain or contempt for the personwho has fallen into vice (apunya) or one of indifference or superioritytowards him. It is a searching self-examination to find out how one

17. Viniyoga Britain, for example, structures teacher/pupil interaction along one-to-onesessions explicitly inspired, at least to some degree, by psychotherapeutic models.

18. The well-stocked library of the lyengar Yoga Institute in Pune, containing in excess of6,000 volumes in 1992 (Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga Institute 1992: 19) has asection dedicated to psychology. The ongoing stream of lyengar Yoga pupils visiting theInstitute from all over the world keep the library up to date with whatever is fash-ionable in Modern Yoga circles, as books are often presented to the library or leftbehind once read. lyengar himself spends time at his desk in the library most afternoonswhen not otherwise engaged. Impromptu discussions on yoga and other topics may alsotake place at this time with visitors and/or with whoever is present in the library (ownfield data, 1997).

19. See this sutra's text in note 13 above.20. evamasya bhavayatah suklo dharma upajayate, tatasca cittam prasidati prasannam-

ekdgram sthitipadam labhate ||. In Yardi's translation (1979): "As he cultivates thesesentiments, white [i.e. pure] deeds proceed from him and his mind, becoming sereneand one-pointed, attains a state of steadiness."

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would have behaved when faced with the same temptations. It is alsoan examination to see how far one is responsible for the state intowhich the unfortunate has fallen and the attempt thereafter to put himon the right path. The yogi understands the faults of others by seeingand by studying them first in himself. This self-study teaches him to becharitable to all. (LOY: 27)

lyengar's concept of 'self-study', then, is intended to be part of amultifaceted effort towards self-improvement and is also meant toinform the 'good works' that the practitioner should perform. InLOY, lyengar also uses other locutions to refer to such endeavour:"character building" (ibid.: 38), "study ... of [one]self" (ibid.: 47),"self-examination" (ibid.: 48). But all represent propaedeutic strate-gies aimed at the attainment of Neo-Vedanta style "spiritual evolu-tion" (ibid.: 37), culminating in "Self-realization". We do notactually find the latter expression in LOY, but lyengar goes closeenough to it when he writes about the yogi who "realises his self(atman)" (ibid.: 22), or when he quotes a Katha Upanisad passage as:"The Self is not to be realised by study .. ."21

"Self-realization": a chameleonic concept

The concept of "Self-realization" will increasingly gain in importancein lyengar's thought (a clear indication of this is its growing promi-nence in indexes), 22 but its beginnings can already be seen in LOY. Itis mainly by holding on to this concept that our author will be able toadapt his own synthesis of classical and Neo-Vedantic tenets to thegeneral ideological temper of the Counterculture23 and of the NewAge. The marvellous ambiguities of this concept, whether used bylyengar or by other MPY representatives, allow it to become allthings to all people. lyengar uses the term "self" to translate theSanskrit atman (for example, LOY: 51), but he also uses "soul" and"spirit", at times with added qualifiers (see note 11 here). Thismultiplicity of translations can be somewhat confusing. However, ifone overlooks the rather loose terminology a certain synthetic over-view of his use of the word can be brought to light: the "Self" (often

21. Katha Upanisad 2.23, where "not to be realised" is translated from "na ... labhyah".22. "Self-realization" is not listed in LOY, appears as a sub-entry of 'self in LOP and as a

full entry in LOYSP.23. This term is used with reference to Roszak's standard work on the subject (1995

[1969]).

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capitalized) is either a part of (ibid.: 21, 22, 41, 50) or identical with(ibid.: 30, 49) God, even though in some cases instead of God we finda less obviously theistic entity such as "Supreme Soul" (ibid.: 22, 438,440) or "divine spirit" (ibid.: 50). Essentially, the aim of yoga - andindeed the aim of human life in general - is to realize the unionbetween the two (ibid.: 22, 28, 30, 48, 51, 438). This formulation, inall its vagueness - or rather due to it - is very consonant with Neo-Vedantic formulations of the same tenets.

This brief terminological discussion also provides us with ademonstration of why the term "Self-realization" has become sosuccessful in Neo-Vedantic (and related) discourses: its ambiguity asdescriptive of both material and intellectual operations works per-fectly well in whichever way the relationship between the two terms'self and 'God' is defined. And if such relation is not defined, ordefined in contradictory ways within the same text (as is often enoughthe case in Modern Yoga sources), the readers will be free to interpretit according to their inclination: whether the two entities are iden-tical, or whether one is part of the other, or whether the two arecompletely distinct, the term 'realization' works. Indeed, it can evenbe made to accommodate non-theistic, materialistic, sceptical oragnostic convictions if instead of 'self and 'God' one uses terms suchas "living spirit" and "divine spirit" (ibid.: 50) or "individual soul"and "Divine Universal Soul" (ibid.: 28). Still, as far as LOY is con-cerned and in line with its overarching theistic and devotionalinterpretation of yoga, lyengar keeps to terms clearly indicative ofstrong theistic beliefs.

Light on Prandyama (1981): the Consolidation period

It is really only in the last two developmental phases that lyengarYoga comes into its own. During the Popularization period lyengarwas still, so to speak, in the position of the apprentice. During theConsolidation period this changes: the practices and connectedideology become distinctive, lyengar is fully established as a widelyreputed yoga master, and the school's institutional profile is heigh-tened by the worldwide diffusion of its teachers, many of whom runtheir own yoga centres by this time.

The evidence we find in lyengar's texts shows that he continues toexplore the previously mentioned main MPY themes: Neo-Vedantic

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ethics, hathayoga teachings, Western occultistic motifs and personalreligious allegiance. None of these elaborations, however, lead tosignificant changes in his practice or thinking, the one exceptionbeing Western occultistic motifs. It is in the area of practice, in otherwords, and in the theoretical interpretations directly connected withit, that innovations and transformations take place. This does notmean that lyengar's protracted study and reflection on other topicsdoes not help him to deepen his personal practice or understanding ofyoga or, more generally, of life. But it does mean that the mainrecorded evidence of developments is to be found in the practical andtheoretical elaborations of astdngayoga and more specifically of dsanaand prdndydma.

Fully-fledged Afeo-Hathayoga

As we saw in the previous chapter, the institutional developments oflyengar Yoga during the Consolidation period were essentially posi-tive in the sense that the school gained in overall influence andstrength. We also noticed that, at least to start with, lyengar Yogawas more successful in the West than in India. Maybe inevitably,therefore, lyengar's conceptual constructs started to be substantiallyinfluenced by the Countercultural and New Age milieus in which histeachings flourished. lyengar himself does not seem to have beenaware of the shift: indeed, such a gradual change of position wouldhave hardly been noticeable under the circumstances. As has beenshown, much overlap and dialogue between Indian and Westernforms of esotericism and occultism had taken place in Modern Yogacircles from the start. We also saw how Vivekananda brought yogawithin the scope of alternative medicine and hence of unchurched andcultic religiosity. This was already an accomplished fact beforelyengar's birth. By the time he became professionally active, ModernYoga had developed specific forms and discourses in this sense, atrend that was only to grow and develop further from the 1960s andbeyond, by this time with lyengar's full participation. Also, becauselyengar lacked any formal training in the classical Indian intellectualtradition, and furthermore subscribed to the generally anti-intellectualModern Yoga ethos, he is unlikely to have been too concerned aboutthe role and value of theoretical contents and backgrounds.

From the vantage viewpoint of the analytical observer, however,we can detect a series of momentous, if subtle, shifts. For example,

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the failings of the human condition are no longer to be righted byaddressing what was described in LOY (in typical Neo-Vedanticfashion) as our congenital metaphysical ignorance and ensnaringsensuality. LOP's stress is, instead, on neutralizing our shortcomingsthrough the implementation of a yogic regime aimed at redressingimbalances and eliminating impurities from our psychosomatic being.Whereas according to LOY individuals resort to yoga in order to go"beyond the realms of illusion and misery with which our world issaturated" (LOY: 36) and to eradicate desires without doing which"there [could] be no peace" (ibid.: 24), according to LOP our mostimportant commitment is to keeping "the human body in a balancedstate of health and perfection" (ibid.: xix, emphasis added; it will benoted how the two terms are conceptually brought together). LOY'sunwieldy attempt to blend a strongly practical and utilitarian phy-siotherapeutic emphasis with a markedly theological religio-philo-sophical framework has been abandoned. In LOP lyengar developswhat in the early days was only an embryonic discourse: yoga as aform of holistic healing based on the uniqueness of individualexperience. By the time LOP was published it is clear that lyengar'sposition had undergone a substantial evolution. His personal com-mitment to Vaisnava devotionalism remained intact, but it con-tributed more sporadically to his elaborations of theory and practice.By and large, it was the cultivation of human potential within ahathayogic framework that now engaged him.

The enthusiastic, self-assured theoretical and theological certaintiesof LOY are also gone (albeit not as personal convictions): lyengar isnow aware that his religious, cosmological and metaphysicalassumptions are not going to be accepted unquestioningly, and healigns his speculative approach to the more flexible and polyvalent(read secular) models found in cultic circles. Introducing in the veryfirst page of LOP the fundamental categories of "God (Purusa) ...nature (prakrti), religion (dharma) and Yoga", he states: "Since it isso difficult to define these concepts, each man has to interpret themaccording to his understanding" (ibid.: 3.1-2). From the relativesafety of his original Srlvaisnava/Neo-Vedantic background; from thelofty, old-fashioned rhetoric of God and of 'nation building', ourauthor is catapulted to the fast globalizing, pluralistic, deconstruc-tionist and much more ideologically and socially unsteady latemodern world. The main priority in this context, at least as far as theModern Yoga practitioners are concerned, is to satisfy their longing

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for healing and personal growth: to restore, most importantly, a senseof integrity to fragmented individualities.

We now find that the 'self-improvement' of the Brahmo ethic hasbecome the 'personal development' of the New Age.24 Thus in thebrief cosmological introduction to LOP lyengar states that afterman appeared on the earth he "began to realise his own potential"(LOP: 3), and "realised that he should keep his body healthy, strongand clean in order to follow Dharma and to experience the divinitywithin himself" (ibid.). Dhyana, on the other hand, is described as"the expansion of consciousness", having attained which "the soulof man permeates his whole body" (ibid.: 225). This latter themeprefigures the way in which the Samadhi Model will eventually beintegrated within the lyengar system during the Acculturationphase: through practices of 'culturing' or 'diffusing awareness'. Aswe shall see, such modes will come to replace Vivekananda's cruder,more exclusively physical instructions for proprioception. Theideological roots of such speculations, however, are the same:hathayoga on the one hand and occultistic mesmerism on the other.The never-quite-successful assimilation of the two is based onattempts to combine the magico-transcendental assumptions of theformer with the mechanistic and evolutionary principles of thelatter.

Thus the occultistic mix of Harmonial tenets and hathayoga startedby Vivekananda comes to full fruition in the latter half of thetwentieth century. Here lyengar emerges as one of the most innova-tive and successful representatives of Neo-Hathayoga, the moder-nistic and secularized version of classical hathayoga lying at the heartof MPY.

In LOP lyengar establishes the foundations of his own inter-pretation of yoga, which he will then go on to refine throughout therest of the Consolidation and Acculturation periods. Despite being atext on prandyama, this book is much concerned with asana theoryand practice, thus retaining lyengar's specialist focus (see Figure 13).In its rather substantial theoretical parts (about half of the book) itkeeps returning to and expanding on the subject of asana in general,

24. I.e. the 'personal development' that brings us to 'Self-realization', as for example in thetitle of Waters' 1996 New Age book: Dictionary of Personal Development: An A-Z ofthe Most Widely-used Terms, Theories and Concepts.

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Figure 13 Reproduction of pages 74-5 from B. K. S. lyengar's Light onPranayama. Reprinted by permission of B.K.S. lyengar and by agreement withHarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Crossroad Publishing (USA)

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(corners of the torso* on either side. If the dorsal or the lumbar spine sags,the lungs do not expand properly. Only the correct movement and stretchof the skin at the back, the sides and the from of the torso enables the toplobes of the kings to be filled.

Sktn of the Torw26. Like a bird spreading its wings in flight, keep the shoulder-bladesdown and open them away from the spine. Then the skin there moves dowoand the back of the armpits are slightly lower than the front ones. Thisprevents the back from drooping. The skin of the front is stretchedsideways on each side as the breasts are lifted away from the armpits (PL 36).

21, The inner and the outer intercostal muscles inter-connect the wholerib cage and control diagonal cross-stretches, It is commonly understoodthat the action of the inner intercostal muscles is expiratory and the actionof the outer intercostal muscles is inspirarory. Normal deep breathingtechniques differ from that of pranayarna techniques, In prtnayama, theinner-intercostal muscles at the back initiate inspiration and the outerintercostal muscles at the front initiate expiration. In internal retention (seeOh. 15) the sadhaka has to balance evenly and fully the muscles of the chestwall throughout to release tension in the brain. The muscles and skin at theback must act in unison, as if interwoven, both in prandyama as well as inmeditation (dhyana*.

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and of the more physical aspects of prdndydma in particular.25 Theimportance and effects of postural practice are often highlighted.26

lyengar's interpretation of yoga in LOP veers more and moretowards hatha themes and terminology.27 He also repeatedlyattempts to homologize hathayogic and Western anatomico-physio-logical models,28 which he had not attempted in LOY.29 Also, con-trary to what happened in LOY, practical teachings and relatedinterpretations are now expressed as experienced facts and personallyrecommended instructions. lyengar is not just reporting on what isfound in hathayoga texts, but actively attempting to build such tenetsinto his system of psychosomatic practice on the basis of his ownexperience.

MPY theory and practice in Light on Pranayama: the consolidationof the Prana Model

In the previous chapter we introduced the standard anthropologicaldistinction between biomedical and alternative types of medicine.When lyengar started his career as a yoga teacher, forms of ModernYoga had already been more or less successfully applied to both typesof medicine. In the case of biomedicine, the recognized applicationsof yoga had been mainly in the field of prevention and the main-tenance of general health and fitness. Throughout the Popularization

25. For example, Chapter 2 in LOP, "Stages of Yoga", discussing the eight limbs, dedicatesAtwelve sections out of twenty-two to dsana and Chapter 10, "Hints and Cautions",dedicates nineteen sections out of sixty-three to "Posture". Other instances are foundthroughout the book.

26. See, for example, the following passages in LOP: paragraph 14 (pp. 9-10; quoted infull below), and paragraphs ll(p. 14), 1-3 (p. 48), 38-40 (p. 61). That Chapter 11,"The Art of Sitting in Pranayama" (pp. 64-85), should expand on dsana is probablyunderstandable. The same cannot be said of Chapter 12, supposedly on "The Art ofPreparing the Mind for Pranayama", which is full of postural details. And while givingguidelines for meditative practice, lyengar reiterates that mastering "[t]he art of sittingcorrectly ... is essential" (p. 227). At length, one gets the impression that physicalposture is more important than anything else.

27. See ibid., Chapters 3-5, and Sections II and III (passim).28. For example, the definition of prdndydma as a system "to keep the involuntary or

autonomous controlling systems of the human body in a balanced state of health andperfection", combining physical (implicit reference to the nervous system), 'subtle'(prdndydma itself) and 'spiritual' ("perfection") levels (ibid.: xix). Also see the firstparagraph of Chapter 5, where nddis and cakras are said to be all "tubes, ducts orchannels" whether in the physical, "subtle" or "spiritual" bodies (ibid.: 32); furtherdetails are given in paragraph 17 (p. 36). Finally, the effects of prdndydma are describedin LOP (pp. 48-9.1-10) in altogether modern anatomico-physiological terms.

29. One finds only hints in this direction (LOY: 273, 348, 439).

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period lyengar mainly kept his teaching within the bounds of bio-medicine thus understood. But as he was making more substantialimports from hathayoga, and interacting with pupils and institutionsthat took for granted that Modern Yoga was a branch of alternativeand complementary medicine, so this theme came to the fore in hissystem.

In LOP, both of these types of medicine are brought to bear. Thebiomedical model is mainly resorted to in order to provide anatom-ical and physiological explanations,30 or when describing the ther-apeutic effects of practices.31 It is, however, the alternative medicalmodel, applied especially in its Harmonial and mesmeric aspects, thatstands at the centre of lyengar's somato-energetic theory of dsana andprdnayama.

The theoretical core of lyengar Yoga practice, i.e. the rules onwhich lyengar Yoga orthoperformance is based, is relativelystraightforward. The problem is that it is never explicitly set out assuch.32 In the absence of a single straightforward statement fromlyengar we shall try to collate one by extracting key concepts fromselected quotations. In the second chapter of LOP, lyengar states:

asanas purify the body and mind and have preventive and curativeeffects ... They cause changes at all levels from the physical to thespiritual. Health is a delicate balance of body, mind and spirit. Bypractising asanas the sadhaka's physical disabilities and mental dis-tractions vanish and the gates of the spirit are opened.

Asanas bring health, beauty, strength, firmness, lightness, clarity ofspeech and expression, calmness of the nerves and a happy disposition... the essence distilled from practising asanas is the spiritual awa-kening of the sadhaka. (pp. 9-10)

We note first of all that the concepts of "health" and of "spiritualawakening" are conflated within an altogether alternative medicine/

30. See, for example, LOP, Chapter 4.31. As in the description of the effects of ujjayl pranayama (stage III): "This preliminary

practice is good for those suffering from low blood pressure, asthma and depression..." (ibid.: 132).

32. This is partly due to lyengar's style of address, whether oral or written: he is veryprecise in his action-oriented, meticulously detailed and well-ordered practical yogainstructions, but his language becomes rather inspirational/literary (and thus moreimpressionistic than instructional) when elaborating on the more theoretical or abstractaspects of his teachings.

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Harmonial definition of health as "a delicate balance of body, mindand spirit". Secondly, asana performance is said to "purify", "cure",and "change" the individual "at all levels"; it dissolves "mentaldistractions", it "calms", "beautifies" and results, eventually, in"spiritual awakening". Further,

Through the abundant intake of oxygen by [pranayama's] disciplinedtechniques, subtle chemical changes take place in the sadhaka's body.The practice of asanas removes the obstructions which impede the flowof prana, and the practice of pranayama regulates that flow of pranathroughout the body. It also regulates all the sadhaka's thoughts,desires and actions, gives poise and the tremendous will-power neededto become a master of oneself. (Ibid.: 14.12)

How this transformation is achieved, the second quotation explains,is by diffusion of prana "throughout the body". As pranayama is saidto increase the "intake of oxygen", thus bringing about "subtlechemical changes", and to "regulate the flow of prana" and "all thesadhaka's thoughts, desires and actions", biomedical and alternativemedicine frameworks are powerfully (if not explicitly) broughttogether. The causal relations between biomedical and alternativemodels said to regulate access to spiritual gnosis are further explainedin the following extract, implicitly equating the anatomical nervoussystem and pranic channels:

The body is trained by practice of asanas, which keep the channels freefrom obstruction for the flow of the prana. Energy does not radiatethrough the body if the nadls are choked with impurities. If the nervesare entangled [sic], it is impossible to remain steady, and if steadinesscannot be achieved the practice of pranayama is not possible. If thenadls are disturbed, one's true nature and the essence of things cannotbe discovered. (Ibid.: 86)

This is not all, however. The diffusion of fluidic prana must bealtogether 'even' (i.e. equally and symmetrically distributed) in orderto produce the desired effects. This is achieved by seeking perfectionin musculo-skeletal alignment and even in the 'positioning' of air flowduring pranayama. Padmdsana provides us with a perfect example ofhow, according to lyengar, body posture influences pranic distribu-tion and the psychosoma in general. In this position

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all the four areas of the body[33] ... are evenly balanced ... and thebrain rests correctly and evenly on the spinal column, giving psycho-somatic equilibrium. The spinal cord passes through the spinal col-umn. In padmasana, the adjustment and alignment of the spinalcolumn and the ridges on either side move uniformly, rhythmically andsimultaneously [sic]. The pranic energy flows evenly, with properdistribution of energy through the body. (Ibid.: 66.13-14)3aaa

As for the effect of 'evenly-inspired air', lyengar states that:

Precise and sensitive adjustments with the thumb and the ring and littlefingers of the right hand on the nose [while performing nadi sodhanaprdndydma or alternate nostril breathing] will make the breath flowsimultaneously over the same location in both nostrils creating clarityin the brain and stability in the mind. (Ibid.: 158)35

We then see that, in its mature form, lyengar Yoga propagates asystem of practice in which a perfect harmonization of the somato-energetic being (annamayakosa plus prdndmayakosa) brings about allmanner of healing: physical, psychological and 'spiritual', effectivelyculminating in "Self-realization", or in the attainment of the ultimatereligio-spiritual goal, however described. Harmonization is broughtabout by (progressively more accurate)36 orthopractical performanceof asana and prdndydma according to principles of musculo-skeletalalignment and even pranic diffusion. An analysis of these principles,as offered above, clearly reveals the kind of materialistic andmechanistic presuppositions of causality that characterize occultisticteachings. In a nutshell: 'perfect' physical alignment allows 'perfect'diffusion of prdna, which automatically results in the perfected con-dition of "Self-realization".

Most further elaborations of lyengar Yoga revolve around this

33. That is (a) the lower limbs, (b) the torso, (c) the arms and hands, and (d) the neck andhead (ibid.: 66.11)

34. For other examples of how alignment is causally linked to extensive psychosomaticeffects, see ibid.: 15, 75, 77.

35. Ibid. (p. 167.18) provides numerous further details, including the (causally significant)statement that "The correct adjustment of nasal passages will control the flow of breathfrom the external, measurable area of the nostrils to the immeasurable depth within."

36. Later in life, lyengar will write: "In the beginning, effort is required to master theasanas. Effort involves hours, days, months, years and even several lifetimes of work..." (LOYSP: 28), thus justifying lifelong engagement (or engagement over multiplelives) in yoga practice.

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central somato-energetic core: the proliferation of anatomical detailand of 'adjustments' in its practical teachings;37 the ingenious andpervasive use of props to improve postural performance and align-ment;38 the imaginative anatomico-dynamic teaching vocabularydevised by lyengar and propagated by his teachers;39 the cleversubdivision of postures by type of movement and correspondingpsychosomatic effect;40 the training and fitness principles used todevise postural sequencing41 - all may be suitable and effective for a

37. Anatomical and proprioceptive 'adjustments' are gross to start with, and becomesubtler as the pupil progresses. The following teaching instructions presuppose a fairamount of experience of the lyengar method:

Sit on the base of the pelvis after doing padmasana. Rest both buttocks evenly onthe floor. If you sit more on one than the other, the spine will be uneven. Press thethighs down to the floor, bringing the thigh bones deeper into the hip sockets.Stretch the skin of the quadriceps towards the knees. This creates freedom round theknees to move diagonally and circularly from the top of the outer to the bottom ofthe inner knees. Bring the hamstring muscles closer in order to lessen the distancebetween the thighs... (LOP: 67)

This trend of minute description has been actively cultivated in the school, and plays acrucial role in its teachings past the beginner's stage.

38. The use of props was scanty during the Popularization phase, but has become pervasivein the mature system. The aim of props is to help practitioners to improve their posturalperformance while also becoming more aware of the role played by various body parts(Mehta, S. et al. 1990: 13). Props are also used to adapt postures for people withmedical conditions or with limited mobility (LOP: 123). Virtually anything can be usedas a prop: blankets, pillows and bolsters, belts, pieces of furniture, structural parts of abuilding such as walls, stairs, window sills, etc. However, a whole range of specializedprops has been developed for specific lyengar Yoga use, and these are the ones thatcharacterize the lyengar Yoga studio: ropes hanging from walls and ceilings, specialbenches of various shapes and sizes, non-slip mats, foam blocks, wooden bricks and soon. Photos of props and their use may be seen in LOP (pp. 123-7, 252-3). Since thepublication of LOP, props have become much more prominent and varied in lyengarYoga. A pamphlet produced by cabinet maker Francois Lozier (1994) lists over 50designs of, and (when applicable) building specifications for, benches, boxes, stools,tables, trestles, bricks, blocks, planks, sticks, cylinders, ropes, hooks, pillows, belts,weights, etc.

39. See Clennell (1994), from which some examples include: "Suck the outer calf muscleinto the bone" (ibid.: 2); "Rotate from the pit of the abdomen" (ibid.: 6); "The moonbetween the inner heel and the inner ankle has to grow from a half moon to a fullmoon", where "Moons are used to describe different areas of the body that need tobecome illuminated ... 'The consciousness should be felt there'" (ibid.: 7).

40. "[T]he standing poses give vitality, the sitting poses are calming, twists are cleansing,supine poses are restful, prone poses are energising, the inverted poses develop mentalstrength, balancings bring a feeling of lightness, backbends are exhilarating and thejumpings develop agility" (Mehta, S. et al. 1990: 12).

41. Beginners' classes, for example, are structured to reinforce the pupils' frames and tomake them flexible in preparation for more advanced practice. An advanced class maytypically build up through preparatory, more localized stretches to a few demandingposes, then slow down with calming asanas to end in relaxation. Specific rules for classstructuring and management are given in teacher training courses (own field data).

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number of utilitarian applications, but are ideally and ultimatelyoriented towards the perfect harmonization of all levels of being.

What this amounts to, however, when looked at from the per-spective of intellectual history, is a continuation of Vivekananda'sPrdna Model - though with the further specification that lyengar'selaborations are worked out in much more detail and are more firmlyrooted in the body, or rather in what goes under the name of'bodywork' in contemporary alternative medicine circles. We mustbear in mind that over three-quarters of a century elapsed betweenthe publication of Raja Yoga and LOP: many theoretical speculationsand healing methods were experimented with, all of which are part ofthe culture of in-body healing absorbed by lyengar during his yogiccareer. Out of this connecting chain of relevant links, which wouldwell deserve a separate study, we will only mention two.

Firstly, the now almost paramedical disciplines of chiropractic andosteopathy, healing systems originally based on a Harmonial andmesmeric "belief in the power of physical manipulation to realign thebody with a higher spiritual power" (Fuller 1989: 65).42 Secondly,the orgone and 'muscular armour5 theories of the psychiatrist Wil-helm Reich (1897-1957), who may be regarded as a seminal figurefor all types of modern 'bodywork' systems of healing. The orgoneenergy, "supposed to permeate the cosmos and possess healingpowers" (Honderich 1995: 753), is clearly linked to mesmeric spec-ulations, but also calls to mind MPY's understandings of prdna. Themuscular armour theory postulates the existence of a set of somati-cally engrained defensive attitudes that a person would adopt toprotect herself against physical or emotional hurt.43 The attempt to'dissolve' such an armour, often conceptualized in terms of mis-alignments or wrong postural habits, is at the root of most 'body-work' approaches to healing. As the lyengar Yoga system reaches itsmaturity in the Consolidation phase, the assimilation of MPY amongthe New Age styles of 'bodywork' therapy (ultimately aimed at thecultivation of personal growth) is completed.44

42. For this author's extensive treatment of these two disciplines see Fuller (1989, Chapter4).

43. Honderich (1995: 753). For an excellent study on Reich see Rycroft (1971).44. Etic evidence of this assimilation is provided by the sociologist of (contemporary)

religion J.G. Melton, who dedicates a whole chapter (out of eight) of his New AgeAlmanac to yoga, i.e. Modern Yoga (1991: 147-65).

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Light on the Yoga Sutras ofPatanjali (1993): theaaaAcculturation period

By the end of the 1980s lyengar had established all the practice-related foundations necessary for the ongoing development of hissystem. Always willing to take up new challenges, he is now ready toreview his system of practice in the light of Patanjali's seminal yogatext, the Yoga Sutras. The result of this will be LOYSP, published in1993.

In the meantime Modern Psychosomatic Yoga (MPsY) is becom-ing, generally speaking, more and more secularized. Taught nowmainly by Westerners in the West, at least at grassroots level, andadopted by substantial Expressivist minorities45 and even morewidely by individuals seeking various standards of health and fitness,it naturally undergoes a process of acculturation. As it becomes fur-ther assimilated into secularized milieus, it is itself further secularized,lyengar, however, now in his full maturity, his school safely estab-lished, does not quite go along with this. While maintaining (andindeed always refining) his system of practice, at the level of theory(i.e. of belief and philosophical speculation) he turns back, as willsoon become apparent, to his Srlvaisnava roots. In his new synthesislyengar will also, importantly, attempt to assimilate the SamadhiModel more fully into his Neo-Hathayoga system. Let us see how.

The Samadhi Model in lyengar's Afeo-Hathayoga

It is not easy to find one's way through lyengar's LOYSP. The YogaSutras are a difficult text at the best of times, and lyengar's somewhatover-elaborated commentatorial style may be inspiring and enrichingwith regard to detail but, overall, feels rather unstructured.46 If onereduces this text to its foundational themes, however, its contributionto lyengar Yoga theory and practice appears quite straightforward.

45. 'Humanistic Expressivism' is a useful category employed by sociologists of religion toindicate a substantial minority group, estimated at 10 per cent of British and USApopulations (Heelas 1996: 115). The same author describes this category as beingcomposed of "those who have faith in what the inner psychological realm has to offer"aaand value " 'awareness', 'insight', 'empathy', 'creativity', ... and seeking 'fulfilment'"(ibid.: 115). They are further "intent on discovering and cultivating their 'true' nature,aaaaaaaadelving within to experience the wealth of life itself ... What matters is ... personal'growth', 'meaningful' relationships, being in tune with oneself" (ibid.: 156).

46. The reader may get an overall impression of the scope and eclecticism of lyengar's textby looking at the form and content of its Glossary (LOYSP: 301-32).

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Essentially, its practical teachings expand the Prdna Model to includethe Samddhi one, while its more theoretical contributions hark backto lyengar's Vaisnava roots by creatively reconfiguring them in pat-terns suited to contemporary use and to integration with the otherelements of the school's teachings.

Let us first look at what LOYSP has to say about practice. The keydynamis here is one in which, in lyengar's own words, the movementsof consciousness are "at once centripetal and centrifugal" (LOYSP:66). Or, more technically, "we reach a state when skin-consciousnessmoves toward the centre of being, and the centre radiates toward theperiphery" (ibid.). This, according to our author, reflects the centralteaching of "Eastern thought", which

takes one through the layers of being, outwards from the core, the soul,towards the periphery, the body; and inwards from the peripherytowards the core. The purpose of this exploration is to discover,experience and taste the nectar of the soul. The process begins withexternal awareness: what we experience through the organs of action... and proceeds through the senses of perception ... That awarenessbegins to penetrate the mind, the intelligence, the ego, the conscious-ness, and the individual self (asmita) until it reaches the soul (dtmd).These sheaths may also be penetrated in the reverse order. (Ibid.: 9)

At a more microcosmic level the above theorizations give rise toexplanations of practice such as what we may call lyengar's theory of'cellular enlightenment': "While performing the dsanas, one has torelax the cells of the brain, and activate the cells of the vital organsand of the structural and skeletal body. Then intelligence and con-sciousness may spread to each and every cell" (ibid.: 28). Thusemployed, "Asanas act as bridges to unite the body with the mind,and the mind with the soul ... Through dsana^ the sddhaka comes toknow and fully realize the finite body, and merge it with the infinite -the soul ... This is the essence of a perfect dsana" (ibid.: 29).

A further example of such theorizations provides us with a moreheavily anatomized explanation of practice:

The seat of logic is in the front brain, the seat of reasoning in the backbrain, the imprinting of pleasure and pain takes place in the base andthe seat of individuality, the T or 'Me' is in the top. When all fourlobes of the brain are cultured and blended together, the brain becomessuperconscious. (Ibid.: 105, note*; reproduced in Figure 14)

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Here we find an obvious anchoring of practice in the body, but itshould be noted that the use of 'culturing' and similar terms, which isvery prominent in LOYSP, points to the main way in which lyengarproceeds to psychologize the Prana Model into the Samddhi Model.These inward and outward movements are in fact described in termsof "study" and of "culture of consciousness" (ibid.: 13), and lyengarexplicitly states that "The culture of consciousness entails cultivation,observation, and progressive refinement of consciousness by means ofyogic disciplines" (ibid.: 13). What is consciousness then? This termis lyengar's translation for the Yoga Sutras' keyword citta, which hedefines as "a composite word for mind, intellect and ego" (LOYSP:308). In this context the yogic training of "mind" (and hence medi-tative practice, however interpreted) lies at the root of all yogicendeavour:

Patanjali begins the treatise on yoga by explaining the functioning ofthe mind so that we may learn to discipline it, and intelligence, ego andconsciousness may be restrained, subdued and diffused, then drawntowards the core of our being and absorbed in the soul. This is yoga.(Ibid.: 13)

At yet another level, the integration of the two models is operatedby way of an homologization of citta and prana. After two longparagraphs explaining that the whole cosmos is pervaded by prana,for example, lyengar goes on to state: "This self-energizing force isthe principle of life and consciousness [citta}" (ibid.: 153). And fur-ther: "Prana (energy) and citta (consciousness) are in constant con-tact with each other. They are like twins. Prana becomes focussedwhere citta is, and citta where prana is" (ibid.}. There is, in otherwords, a shift from a more quantitative-spacial theory of even dif-fusion (as predominantly found in LOP) to a more qualitative one: inlyengar's Samddhi Model the quality of the 'culturing of conscious-ness' is postulated to be just as important (if not more so) than thequality of somato-energetic alignment.

While in LOP the emphasis was on diffusing the prana as evenly aspossible, in LOYSP, more oriented towards the mental aspects ofyoga, the emphasis is on even 'diffusion' of "intelligence", "con-sciousness" or "awareness". When this is achieved, dsana itselfbecomes meditation:

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In dsana, there is a centrifugal movement of consciousness to thefrontiers of the body, whether extended vertically, horizontally orcircumferentially, and a centripetal movement as the whole body isbrought into a single focus. If the attention is steadily maintained inthis manner, meditation takes place... (ibid.: 169)

Thus in the advanced practice of dsana,

the rhythmic flow of energy and awareness is experienced evenly andwithout interruption both centripetally and centrifugally throughoutthe channels of the body [, and eventually a] pure state of joy is felt inthe cells and the mind. The body, mind and soul are one. This is themanifestation of dhdrand and dhydna in the practice of dsana. (Ibid.:150)

Similar principles - but this time going back all the way to the purusa- are employed to explain the state of samddhi in a full and moreexplicit translation into the Samddhi Model:

Samddhi is the tracing of the source of consciousness - the seer [i.e.purusa} - and then diffusing its essence, impartially and evenly,throughout every particle of the intelligence, mind, senses and body.

... the enticing prospect of samddhi, revealed so early in [Patanjali's]work, serves as a lamp to draw us into yogic discipline, which willrefine us to the point where our own soul becomes manifest. (Ibid.: 4)

Of course the 'diffusion' theory also supports the lyengar method'sstrong emphasis on dsana practice. Indeed, in his more extremetheorizations, lyengar has been known to interpret the process ofmeditative samyama in rather unorthodox ways - at least from thepoint of view of strictly dualistic Classical Yoga. Most prominently,such 'radical' elaborations are found in Yoga Vrksa: The Tree of Yoga(or YV; 1988), an edited collection of lyengar's discourses publishedat the end of the Consolidation period. In some passages of this bookdhdrand, dhydna and samddhi are stated to follow altogethermechanically from the practice of the other five limbs of yoga (whichin turn are said to hinge on dsana practice). Here is how lyengarexpresses this view:

Yoga can ... be seen as having three tiers: external, internal andinnermost, or physical, mental and spiritual. Thus the eight limbs of

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Figure 14 Reproduction of pages 104-5 from B. K. S. lyengar's Light on theYoga Sutras of Patanjali. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins PublishersLtd. © B.K.S. lyengar 1993

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Sadhana Pada 105

11.3 avidya asmita raga dvesa abhinivesah klesah

avidya lack of spiritual knowledge, spiritual ignoranceasmita ego, pride, T or 'me*raga desire, attachment, love, passion, affection, joy, pleasure,

musical mode, order of sounddve$a hate, dislike, abhorrence, enmityabhinivesah love of life, fear of death, clinging to life, application,

leaning towards attachment, intent, affection, devotion,determination, adherence, tenacity

klesah affliction, pain, distress, sorrow, trouble

The five afflictions which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignoranceor lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense ofT> attachment to pleasure,aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life.

Afflictions are of three levels, intellectual, emotional and instinctive. Avidyaand asmita belong to the field of intelligence; here lack of spiritual knowledgecombined with pride or arrogance inflates the ego, causing conceit and theloss of one's sense of balance. Raga and dves,a belong to emotions andfeelings. Raga is desire and attachment, dvesa is hatred and aversion. Suc-cumbing to excessive desires and attachments or allowing oneself to becarried away by expressions of hatred, creates disharmony between bodyand mind, which may lead to psychosomatic disorders. Abkinivesa is instinc-tive: the desire to prolong one's life, and concern for one's own survival.Clinging to life makes one suspicious in dealings with others, and causesone to become selfish and self-centred.

The root causes of these five afflictions are the behavioural functions andthoughts of the various spheres of the brain. Avidya and asmita are connectedwith the conscious front brain, and the top brain is considered the seat ofthe T consciousness. Raga and dves,a are connected with the base of thebrain, the hypothalamus. Abhinivesa is connected with the 'old' brain orback brain which is also known as the unconscious brain, as it retains pastsubliminal impressions, samskaras*.

* According to Patanjali the five fluctuations (vrttis), the five afflictions (klesas) aswell as the maturity of intelligence through savitarka, nirvitarka, savicara, ninricara,ananda and asmita are all functions of the four lobes of the brain. The seat of logic isin the front brain, the seat of reasoning in the back brain, the imprinting of pleasureand pain takes place in the base and the seat of individuality, the T or 'Me' is in thetop. When all four lobes of the brain are cultured and blended together, the brainbecomes superconscious (see 1.17).

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yoga can be divided into three groups: yama and niyama are the socialand individual ethical disciplines; asana, pranayama and pratyaharalead to the evolution of the individual, to the understanding of the self;dharana, dhyana and samadhi are the effects of yoga which bring theexperience of the sight of the soul, but they are not as such part of itspractice. (YV: 5)

Soon after this, and after having explained the simile of astdngayogaas a tree,47 lyengar states that when a tree is well cared for it "gives itsnatural culmination which is the fruit"; thus samyama "is the effector the fruit of sadhana" (ibid.: 6). He further postulates that "Themastery of asanas and pranayama leads automatically towards con-centration and meditation" (ibid.: 8, emphasis added), an idea that heelaborates more fully later in the book (ibid.: 138-9), eventuallyconcluding that "dharana, dhyana and samadhi ... are the effects ofthe practice of asana, pranayama and pratyahara, but in themselvesdo not involve practice" (ibid.: 138).

At first sight, and especially if the reader relies on the more radi-cally dualistic interpretations of meditative practice, such a reading ofsamyama may well appear unorthodox, even shockingly so. By pro-posing it, lyengar seems to overlook (or disregard) centuries, evenmillennia of speculations and theorizations about meditative practiceas found in countless Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts; he seems tobypass innumerable testimonials, beliefs, folk tales and statementsscattered throughout the lore of these traditions, all of which insist onthe efficacy, worthiness and power of the meditative enterprise.

The dispassionate analyst should, however, carefully take intoconsideration lyengar's hermeneutical situation and the impact thathis personal and cultural motivations may have had on the shaping ofhis system. It will then become possible to argue that his 'auto-matization' of samyama, apart from answering the needs of a practicestrongly oriented towards asana and pranayama orthoperformance48

also, and more importantly, defines the orthodoxy of what finallyemerges as lyengar's Neo-Visistadvaita synthesis.

47. "The root of the tree is yama ... Then comes the trunk, which is compared to theprinciples of niyama ... From the trunk of the tree several branches emerge ... Thesebranches are the asanas ... From the branches grow the leaves ... They correspond topranayama ... The bark ... corresponds to pratyahara ... The sap of the tree isdharana ... [DJhyana, meditation, is the flower of the tree of yoga. Finally, when theflower is transformed into a fruit, this is known as samadhi" (YV: 7-8).

48. For which the lyengar School continues, on and off, to be criticized (own field data).

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The Neo-Visistddvaita synthesis

Within such a synthesis, and at its more mundane level, this inter-pretative strategy could have been adopted not on the basis of con-scious speculation, but simply as an intuitive solution to a perceivedpractical problem. The problem, as lyengar himself put it in 1985, isthat "[a]sanas bring the mind closer to the self without losing thecontact with the external world, whereas in meditation, people getcompletely lost" (ILW: 228, emphasis added). A passage in LOYSPclarifies his thought further:

There are many examples ... of people ... experiencing samyama evenif they have been following no fixed path of yogic discipline ... This isundoubtedly a moment of grace, but it is not the same thing asenlightenment...

The modern fancy of 'kundalini [sic] awakening' has probably arisenthrough these freakish experiences of 'integration' [viz. samyama] ... Itis, however, clear that many who undergo an overwhelming experienceof fusion with the universal consciousness reap, through their unpre-paredness, more pain than benefit... The eightfold path [astdngayoga]... is ultimately a path of spiritual evolution whose [sic] motto mightwell be 'safety first'. The foundation must be secure, as Patanjaliemphasizes when he places yama and niyama first, and when he marksa definite step up between dsana and prdndydma. (Ibid.: 173)

These perceived dangers, along with lyengar's keenness to cultivatepostural orthoperformance, could easily have resulted in the ela-boration of a Neo-Visistadvaita position which is rather conservativetowards 'enlightenment' and altered states of consciousness, espe-cially when compared with overall New Age attitudes towards suchphenomena. lyengar's reliance on postural orthoperformance maythus be explained as a buttress used to 'steady' the general (and oftenambiguous) Neo-Vedantic and New Age reliance on "Self-realization".We should not forget that many of his first generation students weresons and daughters of the 'tune in, turn on, drop out' culture of the1960s: a culture which, differently from other modern gurus, lyengarhas never wished to patronize, let alone adopt. Such a position couldthen be construed, quite tenably, as lyengar's attempt to keep hisfollowers 'out of trouble'.

From the more crucial point of view of religious allegiance, how-ever, lyengar's position can be explained by reminding ourselves

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about the standard Visistadvaita diffidence towards meditativepractice. In the section on yogic experience in classical Vedanta at theend of Chapter 5 we reviewed Ramanuja's basic position with regardto the Yoga darsana: meditative practice is to be interpreted exclu-sively as a devotional exercise based on progressively more sustainedremembrance of the Supreme Person (paramapurusa), while samddhiis not even taken into consideration. It may be argued that, alongwith his other Neo-Hathayoga interpretations, lyengar elaborates aparallel, or rather intertwining, Neo-Visistadvaita one in whichdevotional dedication and concentration (dhydna) on one's ortho-aaaaaperformative practice substitutes the classical, samddhi-oriented sit-ating meditation. As in Ramanuja's case, the ultimate aim would be anenhancement of devotion rather than the attainment of a transcen-dent state. Whatever samadhic or other state such practice may ormay not result in, one could imagine lyengar affirming, will be thewill of God, and there should be no expectation or striving for resultson the part of the practitioner.

A number of passages in LOYSP substantiate this thesis; we willdiscuss three representative ones. The first two are found at keyjunctures in the text, the first at the beginning of lyengar's actualtranslation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras,49 the second at itsvery end. In the first passage lyengar echoes Vyasa's well-known glosson YS I. I50 but also adds a strong devotional element to it by stating:"Samddhi means yoga and yoga means samddhi: both mean pro-found meditation and supreme devotion" (LOYSP: 43, emphasisaaaaaaadded). In the second passage lyengar summarizes his teachings, thistime echoing the Gttd, by affirming that the yoga adept should "seekrefuge by surrendering all actions as well as himself to the SupremeSpirit or God", so that he may journey "from Self-Realization toGod-Realization" (ibid.: 269). These two programmatic affirmationshold, as it were, the whole text within explicitly theistic brackets.

Such 'devotionalization' of yoga and particularly of samyama isfurther expressed in one of LOYSP's numerous tables (ibid.: 104,Table 6; reproduced in Figure 14), where correspondences are givenfor the various components of three central types of yoga: kriydyoga(YS II. 1), astdngayoga (middle section of the table), and the yoga ofthe Bhagavad Gitd. lyengar homologizes devotion and the meditative

49. I.e. after a lengthy Prologue.50. The relevant part of which reads: "yogah samddhih".

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aspects of astangayoga (dharana, dhydna and samadhi, i.e. samyamd)by matching the latter with the more theistic aspect of kriyayoga(isvarapranidhana, or "placing [all] in the Lord"; YS II. 1) on the onehand and to the Gita's bhaktimdrga (way of devotion) on the other.

We also know from lyengar's writings and speeches thatthroughout his career he has consistently relied on the BhagavadGlta, along with the Yoga Sutras and key hathayogic texts, as hismain authority on yoga.51 In LOYSP the Glta is often referred to andoccasionally quoted at length.52 Such an intellectual position provideslyengar with strong theistic and devotional themes, which he will-ingly cultivates. Not surprisingly, this is very obvious in lyengar'stranslation of, and commentary on YS I. 23-9 on Isvara ("the Lord"),which he treats in full theistic fashion. What is more revealing in thecontext of the present discussion is that his treatment of this passageis at variance with many of those found in New Age or New Age-oriented publications.53 One example of lyengar's Neo-Visistadvaitarendition, as found in his treatment of sutra 1.23, will suffice here:

"Or, the citta may be restrained by profound meditation upon Godand total surrender to Him".[54]

To contemplate God, to surrender one's self to Him, is to bringeverything face to face with God. Pranidhana is the surrender ofeverything: one's ego, all good and virtuous actions, pains and plea-sures, joys and sorrows, elations and miseries to the Universal Soul.Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and the grace of theLord pours down upon him like torrential rain. (LOYSP: 73)

Such devotionalism is very strong in certain passages of the text, butit is in no way pervasive. Indeed, quantitatively speaking, the Neo-Hathayoga element is the prevailing one. By now it will be easy toguess why: our author, as most MPY teachers, is keen to preserve thepolyvalence of his teachings and practices so that all may be able toaccess them. He knows very well that he is talking to globalized,multifaith, multicultural audiences. This is part and parcel of the

51. As stated at the beginning of this chapter, according to lyengar "the Bhagavad Glta ...is the most important authority on Yoga philosophy" (LOY: 19).

52. See for example LOYSP: 251, 266, 228-9.53. The latter may be exemplified by Feuerstein's influential (as it is widely used in Modern

Yoga circles) Yoga Sutras translation, which explains the concept of Isvara in terms of aNeo-Jungian archetypal function (1989: 42-5).

54. The Sanskrit sutra reads: isvarapranidhanadva.

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Modern Yoga ethos, at least insofar as most of its international MPsYramifications are concerned. But such an observation does not detractfrom the evidence suggesting that, ultimately, the lyengar methodrests upon a foundation of Neo-Visistadvaita devotionalism.

To sum up: in order to understand lyengar's position in the fullness ofthe Acculturation phase we should combine (a) lyengar's Neo-Visi-stadvaita interpretation of samyama as resulting 'automatically' fromthe practice of the other limbs of yoga, (b) a related insistence on thepower of devotion, (c) his Neo-Vedantic understanding of ethics, and(d) his Neo-Hathayogic reading of orthoperformance and of "Self-realization". Thus when lyengar describes the aims of the YogaSutras he states that Patanjali's text

guide[s] the aspirant... towards full knowledge of his own real nature.This knowledge leads to the experience of perfect freedom, beyondcommon understanding. Through ardent study of the sutras, andthrough devotion, the sddhaka is finally illumined by the lamp ofexalted knowledge. Through practice, he radiates goodwill, friendli-ness and compassion. This knowledge ... gives him boundless joy,harmony and peace. (LOYSP: 3)

Here what must be known is one's "own real nature" (part of NewAge "Self-realization") and this happens by studying and practisingthe teachings of the Sutras in a devotional spirit (Neo-Hathayogicand Neo-Visistadvaita elements). This "exalted knowledge" leads to"perfect freedom", impeccable ethical behaviour and "boundless joy,harmony and peace" (mixture of New Age and Neo-Vedantic aims).

All of the strands found in most MPY speculations are present,though as far as lyengar is concerned the central ones, ultimately, willhave to be (asana-based) "practice" and "devotion":

Some say that it is possible to acquire mastery of asana by surrenderingto God. How can this be so? In yoga we are on a razor's edge and inasana perfection must be attained through perseverance, alertness andinsight. Without these we remain dull and make no progress. Surrenderto God alone does not make us perfect, although it helps us to forgetthe stresses of life and of our efforts, and guides us towards humilityeven when perfection in asana has been attained. (LOYSP: 151)

After a basic understanding of lyengar's Neo-Visistadvaita synth-esis has been achieved, what remains to be asked is whether his and

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other MPY masters' vision and projects reflect what actually goes onat the grassroots level of everyday practice: are their theorizationsreally widespread among MPY practitioners? Why is MPY successful,and what exactly do practitioners find in it? In the next chapter weshall attempt to sketch some possible answers to these questions. Thiswill be done by interpreting field data and a selection of primarysources in the light of some well-known anthropological models ofritual.

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8. Conclusion: Modern

Postural Yoga as healingritual of secular religion

Ultimately, yoga practice is the process of discovering who we are, and how and whywe continue to exist. Through yoga practice our consciousness can be raised to anew vantage point from which to view life. Yoga theory conveys to us that we mustlook within our own physical bodies and our own minds to find truth. The processof uplifting our consciousness begins by uplifting the energy level in our body. Ournatural heritage is one of cosmic consciousness, but this can be realized only as weremove the dust of the body and illusions of the mind, say the yoga masters.

(Smith and Boudreau 1986: 10)

MPY in everyday life

Modern Postural Yoga (MPY) has become a widespread and popularactivity. Most people will have heard about 'y°ga'? and may evenaaaaahave tried it themselves. Indeed, in colloquial English, 'yoga' hascome to mean a session of MPY.

The way MPY has been practised throughout the twentieth centuryis of course worlds apart from all forms of classical yoga. The schoolswhich first started, in the 1920s, to elaborate MPY practice in Indiaused it to construct a sort of indigenized (and 'spiritualized') versionof British education. Yoga-inspired routines of physical exercisewould train the body, and a yoga-inspired self-control and moralitywould further 'character building'. This was still principally (but notexclusively) a Neo-Hindu development.1 But, as MPY became more

1. For further details on the history and teaching of these schools see Alter (2000, Part II;and forthcoming) and De Michelis (1995; 2002).

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8. CONCLUSION

deeply rooted and assimilated in Western (and progressively alsoIndian) esoteric and occultistic milieus, Harmonial developmentscame to the fore.

By the middle of the twentieth century what would become thestandard international MPY classroom format was taking shape. Thiswent hand in hand with drastic changes in mores, which in turnbrought about changes in popular ideals of body image and identity.As journalist Veronica Horwell reports (1998: 12), in the postwarperiod

The Americans ... brought [to Europe] a new concept of pleasure: theywere young and their idea of bliss was to be even younger ... In justover a decade, in two locations, the Mediterranean] and Los Angeles,the ultimate sexy dream place changed from a perfumed boudoir in asophisticated city to a beach under the sun with a dazzle on the ocean.Erotic fantasies of hook-and-eye underwear removed privately werereplaced by the proto-bikini...

Such developments resulted in increasing attention and importancebeing given to physical grooming, including fitness and the cultiva-tion of youthful looks. These predilections were not new in them-selves, the most obvious precedent being Ancient Greece. What wasunprecedented, however, was (and is) the attention, value and energygiven to their cultivation in the latter part of the twentieth centuryand beyond. Quite naturally, the more exoteric aspects of MPY cameto play a part in these phenomena, and this discipline thus establisheditself at the margins of the 'sports and fitness' category.

The other great boost to MPY was provided by the recognition of'stress' as a specific (if not univocally defined) psychosomatic syn-drome.3 Speculations on links between the fast pace of modern urbanliving and "nervousness" were already in evidence by the last quarterof the nineteenth century,4 but the beginnings of the formulation ofthe concept of 'stress' as we now know it are found in researchpublished by the scientist Hans Selye from the 1930s onwards.5 Like

2. It is significant that, as already pointed out, MPY practice in Britain is regulated by theSports Council.

3. Both Cox (1978, Chapter 1) and King et al. (1987, Chapter 1) provide interestingoverviews of the various ways in which stress has been defined.

4. See George Beard, American Nervousness (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1881), as discussedin Fuller (1989: 63-4).

5. Selye (1957) is considered the seminal text. Selye's definition of stress is spelt out overtwelve pages (ibid.: 53-64).

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earlier medical researchers, Selye speculated that it was "the indivi-dual frustration arising out of constricted urban living, rather thanlife's major causes of worry, which [made] people illness-prone"(Inglis 1980: 114). The constellation 'urban living - stress - MPY' isnot random. Modern conditions of urban living are notoriouslyfrustrating, and this type of lifestyle is also highly conducive tosedentariness. Hence the need for fitness and de-stressing, both ofwhich can be supplied by MPY. But there are deeper sources offrustration, insecurity and anxiety, linked to the gradual seculariza-tion of developed societies.

As Fuller reminds us, the term 'secularization' refers, in a generalsense, "to the gradual decline of [institutionalized] religion as aconsequence of the growth of scientific knowledge and [to] the con-tinued diversification of social and ethnic groups in the Occident"(1989: 118). All of these elements would be especially prominent inconditions of 'urban living', and it is in such environments that MPYgrows and thrives. Adopted and cultivated in conditions of markedprivatization and relativization of religion, MPY is successful, likeother Harmonial belief systems, because it provides "experientialaccess to the sacred" (ibid.: 119).

Such experiential access to the sacred, epitomized by the 'secularritual' of the MPY practice session, represents the third key tounderstanding the current success of MPY, along with its fitness andde-stressing applications. These three elements constitute, guna-like,the 'root contents' and main facets of MPY's polymorphism: theflexibility and adaptability of this discipline depends on their presenceand on the multiplicity of their possible combinations.

Analysed in their religio-philosophical underpinnings, these threeelements also reveal the ambiguous polyvalence characteristic ofoccultistic teachings. The 'fitness' discourse relates to mainstreamanatomical and physiological assumptions, but also, at a more eso-teric level, to MPY's "mechanical power to revolutionize our wholebeing" (LOYSP: 139, emphasis added). The 'de-stressing' discourse,relating to psychosomatic medicine on the one hand and to Neo-Hathayogic understandings of healing on the other, is hybrid bydefinition. It tries to bridge the gap not only between body, mind andspirit, but also between orthodox and alternative styles of medicine,and between mechanistic and holistic models of the human being.The religio-philosophical discourses that shape and validate the ritualdimension of the MPY session, finally, bring to bear both traditional

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religious concepts (God, transcendence, devotion, etc.) and modernunderstandings of 'spirituality' as awareness of and participation in/attunement to a holistic and evolutionary universe. Throughout itshistory, MPY displays varied modulations of these basic themes, butthe key agenda remains the eminently occultistic attempt to harmo-nize and connect tradition and modernity, revelation and rationality,the sacred and the profane.

Thus the MPY session becomes a ritual which affords various levelsof access to the sacred, starting from a 'safe', mundane, tangiblefoundation of body-based practice. In such DIY forms of spiritualpractice, there is room for the practitioner to decide whether toexperience her practice as 'spiritual' or as altogether secular. Exceptin cases of thoroughly utilitarian (fitness or recreational) perfor-mance, however, some notion of healing and personal growth islikely to provide the deepest rationale for practice.

One may begin to map such shifting patterns of ritual semantics byrelating them to standard anthropological interpretative models.Because of the necessary limits of this study, this will only be done ina circumscribed manner, the aim being to disclose the 'everydayappeal' of MPY practice.

The MPY practice session

Without special reference to any one school, we shall describe atypical MPY class as might be experienced by any beginner. Once thestructure, pace and at least a few basic assumptions of MPY theoryand practice have been transmitted to the practitioner, the ritualvalue of the session will become operative.

The one to one-and-a-half hours of the standard MPY session isusually divided into three parts: (i) introductory quietening time:arrival and settling in (about ten minutes); (ii) MPY practice proper:instruction in postural and breathing practice given by the instructorthrough example, correction and explanation; (iii) final relaxation:pupils lie down in savasana ("corpse pose")6 for guided relaxation,possibly with elements of visualization or meditation (ten to twentyminutes). This period includes a short 'coming back' time at the endof the relaxation session.

6. I.e. lying on one's back doing 'nothing' (see also note 3, Chapter 7).

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Within this overall framework there may be many variations: theactual classroom may be a gym, or community centre hall, or themore soothing atmosphere of a yoga centre or a teacher's livingroom. There may be introductory and/or final short readings ortheoretical 'instructions'; different styles of yoga will be characterizedby a slower or faster pace, or different paces will be found acrossvarious sessions of the same style of yoga; some styles of yoga orsessions will be run with a greater sense of 'social' or 'communal'event, others will emphasize inwardness and quiet individual work,etc. - but the overall structure remains.

MPY as healing ritual of secular religion

The emergence of the threefold pattern in the practice session is notby chance, and may be explained with reference to Arnold vanGennep's classic work on rites of passage (1965 [1908]). His well-known discussion defines the fundamental structure of ritual asconsisting of three phases: (i) separation or preliminal state; (ii)transition or liminal state; and (iii) incorporation or postliminal state(ibid.: 11). This basic structure, as we discuss below, is obviouslycorrelated to the three phases of the standard MPY practice session.

(i) The separation phase (introductory quietening time in MPY)

Elaborating on van Gennep's model, Turner (1982 [1969]: 94)comments that this first phase "comprises symbolic behaviour sig-nifying the detachment of the individual or group either from anearlier fixed point in the social structure, from a set of cultural con-ditions ... or from both". Detachment from both social and culturalpoints of reference is well in evidence in the MPY session.

Spatially, practitioners remove themselves from the hustle andbustle of everyday life to attend the yoga class in a designated 'neu-tral' (and ideally somewhat secluded) place. As the teacher and therelevant literature recommend, they should leave their social persona,responsibilities, commitments, plans and worries behind for the timebeing. As lyengar says, these should be left outside the practice roomalong with one's 'ego' and one's shoes (own field data).

Some amount of deference towards the teacher is usually expected,especially in forms of Modern Yoga established by Indians. Indeed,

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some of the more "intense" teachers will expect pupils to act like theliminal personae ("threshold people") described by Turner (ibid.: 95):

Their behaviour is usually passive or humble; they must obey theirinstructors implicitly, and accept arbitrary punishment without com-plaint. It is as though they are being reduced or ground down to auniform condition to be fashioned anew and endowed with additionalpowers to enable them to cope with their new ... life.

Such 'intensity', as lyengar explains, may just be part of a widerstrategy to draw the practitioner into a different, sacralized time andspace, the time of the 'here and now':

One of the reasons why, as a teacher of asana, I am so intense ... isthat I want to give the students one and a half hours of present life in alesson. As I shout at them to straighten their legs in Sirsdsana (head-stand), they cannot be wondering what is for dinner or whether theywill be promoted or demoted at work. For those who habitually fleethe present, one hour's experience of 'now' can be daunting, evenexhausting, and I wonder if the fatigue felt by some students afterlessons is due more to that than to the work of performing dsanas. Ourperpetual mental absences are like tranquillizing drugs, and the habitdies hard. (LOYSP: 221)

Turner (1982 [1969]: 95) also points out that persons in a liminalstate will often "be represented as possessing nothing": they aredivested of outside markers to show that "they have no status,property, insignia, [or] secular clothing indicating rank or role".Similarly, practitioners attending an MPY session are expected todress in standardized and simple fashion and not to wear jewellery orother accessories. When the weather is hot the reduced amount ofclothing and the sheer physicality of the practice may call to mindritual nakedness symbolizing, as in more complex traditional rituals,the womb and the grave, death and rebirth (ibid.: 28).

Even when one is practising on one's own, there is a sense in whichtime and the space used are 'other'. One tries to practise at a time andplace where there will be no disturbance or interruption. One's cy°8a

gear' - a cushion or other seat, props, dedicated clothing, but espe-cially the blanket or mat used for practice - will represent the mini-mum expanse of this 'cordoned off space. As in the case of theIslamic prayer mat (the parallel is structurally closer than may appear

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at first sight), the yoga mat becomes a special object, not to betrodden on, not to be soiled, and not to be used for other purposes.Opening it up on the floor instantly creates a 'special' time and spacein which certain practices, ritual-like, are repeated at regular inter-vals.

Vivekananda already recommended in Raja Yoga that the practi-tioner should, if at all possible, "have a room for this practice alone"(CW 1: 145). Such a room, he continued, should be "kept holy" byadorning it with flowers and pleasing pictures, by "burning incensemorning and evening" and by being used only when the person is in apure state: "bathed", "clean in body and mind", without "anger" or"unholy thought", as this would eventually create "an atmosphere ofholiness" (ibid.).

This initial phase of quiet and resting is more about turning awayfrom the external world and settling into the different dimension ofthe MPY session than about active practice. After a short while,another ritual marker signifies the passage to the next phase: a briefsitting meditation, the chanting of COM',7 or a few words of addressby the teacher indicating the actual start of the session. At the lyengarInstitute in Pune, a Sanskrit invocation to Patanjali is always chantedat this point.8 Here the practitioners ready themselves to enter, to uselyengar's expression, "the temple of [their] own body" (LOP: 55.20).

(ii) The transition phase (MPY practice proper)

It is at this point that the dynamics of the Prdna and Samddhi Modelsdiscussed in the previous chapters come into play. As the teacher

7. "All words are said to be but various forms of the one sound - om - according to theUpanisads. It represents the Divine and the power of God. It is the sound symbol of theultimate Reality" (Grimes 1996: 216).

8. The invocation is as follows:yogena cittasya padena vdcdrnJmalam sanrasya ca vaidyakena Iyopdkarottam pravaram munindm / patanjalim prdnjalirdnato'smi IIdbdhu purusdkdram I sankha cakrdsi dhdrinam Isahasra sirasam svetam I pranamdmi patanjalim II

and the (fairly free) translation used within the lyengar school reads:Let us bow before the noblest of sages, Patanjali, who gave yoga for serenity andsanctity of mind, grammar for clarity and purity of speech, and medicine for per-fection of health.Let us prostrate before Patanjali, an incarnation of Adisesa, whose upper body has ahuman form, whose arms hold a conch and a disc, and who is crowned by a thousand-headed cobra. (LOYSP: ix)

This Sanskrit invocation is a traditional one, probably dating back at least to theeighteenth century (see Woods 1992 [1914]: xiv).

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instructs the pupils, theoretical tenets are passed on, more or lessexplicitly, along with practical instructions. In this strongly psycho-somatic universe, the practitioner learns experientially to feel and toperceive in novel ways; most of all inwardly, though in ways that arealso likely to affect external awareness and behaviour.

MPY orthoperformance may in fact be understood, to use MaryDouglas' concept, as a 'framing' ritual, as a focusing mechanism andmethod of mnemonics which helps us, through practice and repeti-tion, not only to control, but to create experience:

ritual focusses attention by framing: it enlivens the memory and linksthe present with the relevant past. In all this it aids perception. Orrather, it changes perception because it changes the selective principles.So it is not enough to say that ritual helps us to experience more vividlywhat we would have experienced anyway. It is not merely like thevisual aid which illustrates the verbal instructions for opening cans andcases. If it were just a kind of dramatic map or diagram of what isknown it would always follow experience. But in fact ritual does notplay this secondary role. It can come first in formulating experience. Itcan permit knowledge of what otherwise would not be known at all. Itdoes not merely externalise experience, bringing it out into the light ofday, but it modifies experience in so expressing it. (Douglas 1988[1966]: 63-4).

Much in MPY practice, as we saw in the preceding chapters, is aboutassimilating new modes of feeling and perception. This may lead us,ultimately, to look at the world in a different way, so that we may"discover ... who we are" (Smith and Boudreau 1986: 10).

One is encouraged to "become silent and receptive" in order tocultivate "inward dispositions that help destructure the ego-dominated rationality of modern Western life" (Fuller 1989: 123).The temporary suspension of these secular interpretative habits,along with the altered sense of body awareness created by posturaland breathing practice, further contribute to 'reframe' one's identityand sense of being. In this ritual space, the body and the mind arestrengthened and trained, time after time, by cycle upon cycle ofrepetitive practice.

These actions are transformative: correct practice "brings lightnessand an exhilarating feeling in the body as well as in the mind and afeeling of oneness of body, mind and soul" (LOY: 60). So there maybe curing as in relieving or resolving a backache. But also, and more

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momentously, there is a 'making whole' or healing of the self, of one'sown being and history:

This actuality, or being in the present, has both a strengthening and acleansing effect: physically in the rejection of disease, mentally byridding our mind of stagnated thoughts or prejudices; and, on a veryhigh level where perception and action become one, by teaching usinstantaneous correct action; that is to say, action which does notproduce reaction. On that level we may also expunge the residualeffects of past actions. (LOYSP: 28-9)

At this "very high level", a connection may also be made with themetaphysical: by looking within "our own physical bodies and ourown minds [we] find truth" (Smith and Boudreau 1986: 10).

In this hieratic context all is charged with meanings that go wellbeyond the individual person and the present situation. In lyengar'scase, devotional and theological aspects also come in at this stage:

While performing asanas, the student's body assumes numerous formsof life found in creation - from the lowliest insect to the most perfectedsage - and he learns that in all these there breathes the same UniversalSpirit - the Spirit of God. He looks within himself while practising andfeels the presence of God. (LOY: 60)

Ultimately, the MPY practitioner embodies, and is trained to per-ceive, the identity of microcosm and macrocosm:

At this subtlest level, when we are able to observe the workings ofrajas, tamas and sattva in one toe, and to adjust the flow of energy inida, pingala and susumnd (the three principal nadis [sic], or energychannels) the macrocosmic order of nature is perceived in even thesmallest aspects. And when the student then learns how the minutestmodifications of a toe can modify the whole asana, he is observing howthe microcosm relates to the whole, and the organic completeness ofthe universal structure is grasped. (LOYSP: 29)

In this context the teacher, especially if charismatic and/orknowledgeable, experienced and perceived as wise, may also (as inlyengar's case) take on the role of the healer,9 the individual "who is

9. Apart from running numerous 'Remedial Classes', lyengar is widely recognized as havingboth curing and healing capabilities (own field data; see also ILW: 357-418).

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understood to be in special rapport with higher cosmic powers"(Fuller 1989: 123).

Strong psychosomatic practice, finally, with suitably planned pos-tural content and progression, and enhanced by implicit or explicittheoretical 'framing', can bring about noticeable mood changes, andeven more or less pronounced hypnotic trance states. Depending onwhich of two overall practice patterns is used, one can obtain arelaxed and focused calm (good against tension and stress), or a fairlydurable state of mild euphoria (useful in cases of depression or apa-thy). This, along with relief from physical ailments, is one of the mainreasons why people carry on practising Postural Yoga to start with.Indeed, from a psychosomatic point of view the health-relatedadvantages of yoga are undeniable. But relevant studies on addictionhave also shown that physical exercise is a double-edged sword:voluntarily induced psychosomatic highs can become addictive andcan take, under certain circumstances, pathological overtones. Whilethis is not likely to happen in the case of gentler forms of yoga, such ascenario is theoretically possible in the case of more strenuous formsof the discipline, especially if reinforced by extreme claims concerningtheir effects as 'religious' or 'revelatory' events.10 Maybe this gives ussome clue as to one of the reasons why secrecy warnings were sooften reiterated in classical yoga texts.

(in) The incorporation phase (final relaxation in MPY)

Savdsana is recommended in classical hathayoga as a posture to beused for rest and recovery (Hatha Yoga Pradipikd I. 32). It is true thatat a purely physiological level, the quality and depth of relaxationwill be greater after well-coordinated and suitably demanding phy-sical practice. The practice of savdsana at the end of an MPY sessionobviously takes advantage of this.

In MPY, however, this practice is given a much wider range anddepth of meaning: it is interpreted as an exercise in sense withdrawaland mental quietening, and thus as a first step towards meditativepractice. It is also seen as a cleansing/revivifying process and,

10. Committed practitioners remark often enough how after missing one or two days ofpractice they feel deflated. This is a normal reaction in people who exercise regularly. Inrare cases, however, situations may develop in which the intensity of the practice andthe practitioner's apparent psychological dependence on it may seem to border on theobsessive.

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ultimately, as a symbolic death and renewal of self. Here the appel-lation "corpse pose" takes on its full range of meanings. In this sense,this practice may be interpreted as the key step in a secular (henceimplicit) ritual of initiation into our "heritage ... of cosmic con-sciousness" (Smith and Boudreau 1986: 10).

Fuller (1989: 121) has observed how Eliade's speculations on thedeath and rebirth symbolism found in initiatory rites of primitivereligions may also be applied to the healing rituals of alternativemedicine. Such rituals "help structure a process through whichindividuals are induced to discard a no longer functional identity anddiscover a new, 'higher' self" (ibid.). The same may be said for theMPY session, and especially for savdsana practice, described bylyengar as "the experience of remaining in a state as in death and ofending the heart-aches and the shocks that the flesh is heir to", butalso as "recuperation" and as "the most refreshing and rewarding" ofpostural practices (LOP: 232.1).

At a deeper or subtler level, lyengar states, savdsana meansaccessing "that precise state [in which] the body, the breath, the mindand the brain move towards the real self (Atma)" (ibid.: 232.3).Making a direct connection with the higher stages of yoga (and ofbeing), he adds that the famous Upanisadic turlya, the "fourth" stateof ultimate metaphysical awakening,11 may be accessed "in perfectsavasana" (LOP: 233.8). This may seem a rather outsized claim forwhat appears as a rather undemanding practice. But when lyengarexplains that in savdsana the practitioner should "surrender ... his all- his breath, life and soul - to his Creator" (ibid.: 249.22) in order to"merge ... in the Infinite (Paramatma)" (ibid.: 251.29), we under-stand that he is explaining the standard MPY ritual of healing andrenewal in Neo-Visistadvaita terms. Other teachers will use differentimagery and religio-philosophical constructs to explain the samepractices. What remains unchanged is the structure and purpose ofthe ritual.

It is this element of sacralized personal transformation and healing,ultimately, which motivates the practice: "That such changes areregarded as real and important is demonstrated by the recurrence ofrites, in important ceremonies among widely differing peoples,

11. Out of the Upanisadic terminological variants turiya (Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 5.14.3,4, 6, 7), caturtha (Mdndukya Upanisad 7), and turya (Maitri Upanisad 6.19; 7.11.7),turfy a came to be the accepted technical term in all later philosophical treatises (Hume1991 [1877]: 392).

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enacting death in one condition and resurrection in another" (vanGennep 1965 [1908]: 13).

To sum up, the savasana practice which concludes the standardMPY session represents the final, assimilative phase of the healingritual which is, through it, integrated and consolidated. At this pointpractitioners are ready, after a brief but important 're-emergence'phase (another ritual marker), to return to the 'normal' world ofeveryday concerns and commitments, their lives regenerated bycontact with the sacred (Fuller 1989: 123). As the initiates discussedby van Gennep (1965 [1908]: 82), MPY practitioners "retain ... aspecial magico-religious quality" as a result of this passage throughthe domain of the sacred.

The ritual progression, rhythm and meaning of the MPY session asanalysed above finds perfect emic expression and confirmation in thefollowing description (from a Canadian Modern Yoga magazine) ofwhat it means for the practitioner to attend an MPY class:

When I enter the familiar centre where I take my Hatha classes, Ialready feel as though I have separated myself from the hectic outsideworld. I deposit my street shoes, my daytimer and my cell phone alongwith my stress and deadlines in a cubbyhole. All of my worries aside, Ienter the sanctuary of my yoga classroom.

The room has a wall of windows and a skylight illuminating thewooden floors and soft, cream-coloured walls with natural light. Thecalming sounds playing from a nature tape, and a few hanging plantshelp to create the illusion that I have just entered a secret garden.

I find a place for my mat among twenty or so other students, mostlywomen, who seem also to have left their stress at the door. Ourinstructor, Beth, is sitting in lotus position at the front of the room,greeting us with a welcoming smile as we settle into our own versionsof the lotus position.

She begins the class with a prayer. Her voice emanates calm, helpingme to let my eyes rest and my body relax so that my mind can focus.From there, we go through a series of stretches. With each pose, I find anew muscle to bend and loosen into with the help of my breath.Despite the slow motion, my body is working hard to hold each poseand I can feel sweat on my back as my body heats up.

I welcome the final relaxation pose and meditation. As I lie still,Beth's calm, soothing voice guides me through a prayer, which reminds

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me that my efforts were in devotion to something beyond myself.(Dalton 2001: 37)

Thus historical, textual and field findings all concur in showing thatMPY has been adopted and acculturated in developed societies as ahealing ritual of secular religion. Flexible in its suitability to variedapplications secular and sacred, MPY propagates polyvalent teach-ings which may similarly be 'read' and adopted at various levels. Thelack of pressure to commit to any one teaching or practice, the cul-tivation of "Self" and of privatized forms of religiosity make MPYhighly suitable to the demands of contemporary developed societies.The enhancement of physical fitness and psychosomatic relaxationgranted by MPY practice are similarly much in demand.

If actual "Self-realization" is likely to be perceived as an achievablegoal only by enthusiastic young novices or by those who truly partakeof the forceful spirit of hathayoga, it will still remain as a respectedfar-off goal in a distant (maybe reincarnational) future for somepractitioners. The ultimate teleology of "God-" and "Self-realiza-tion" may or may not be adopted by followers, but it will never-theless remain as a possible background option. Even if practitioners'commitments and beliefs are differently structured, it is likely thatMPY will be able to offer some solace, physical, psychological orspiritual, in a world where solace and reassurance are sometimeselusive. As such, MPY has obviously found a place in our society.

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274

Index

Adi Brahmo Samaj 51, 62Advaita 131-2, 141-3

see also Neo-Advaitic modeldkdsa 155-7, 161, 169Alter, Joseph 6, 189, 248, 261alternative medicine 125, 137,

160, 183-6, 192, 230-2, 235,258

definition 184-5and New Age religiosity 183-6

American Transcendentalism 55,80-3, 86,96, 115, 171-2

Arnold, Edwin 96-7,119Arya Samaj 38-9, 47dsanas 164, 187, 198-200, 209,

210-18, 227-46ashrams 49, 79, 86, 99-100

see also Bharat Ashram-, SadhanKanan; Neo-Sannydsa

Astanga Yoga of PattabhiJois 187-8, 190

astdngayoga 14, 143-4, 151-90,243-5

dtmajndna see self-realizationdtman 131, 219Atmiya Sabha 134

B.K.S. lyengar Yoga Teachers'Association 202

Bengalemergence of cultic milieu 47,

55-6, 68, 74-5

growth of publishing andliteracy 55

nineteenth-centuryintelligentsia 13, 40-2, 47,52-6

penetration of secular spirit 74Bernard, Theos 199Bhagavad Gitd 43, 62, 209,

218-19, 240, 244-5bhaktiyoga 124-5, 132, 142, 180,

182Bharat Ashram 79biomedicine 184-5, 230-1

definition 184-5Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna

118-19, 162-3, 178,262Bose, Rajnarayan 63Brahma Kumaris 188brahmajndna see God-realizationbrahman 28, 131-5, 141-2, 144,

177Brahmo Dharma 62Brahmo ethic 49, 62-3, 87, 91,

206, 220, 227Brahmo Sabha 51, 134Brahmo Samaj 9, 12-14, 29-30,

45-90, 97-100, 134-40, 151as cultic milieu 65-8, 74-8esoteric history 51-90leaders see Roy, Rammohan;

Tagore, Debendranath; Sen,Keshubchandra

275

INDEX

Brahmo Samaj of India 51, 62,66-7, 77

British Health EducationAuthority 193

British lyengar Yoga see lyengarSchool of Yoga

British orientalism 9, 29, 38, 40-5,48-9, 56, 69-72

British Sports Council 190-1, 193,205-6

British Wheel of Yoga 190-1, 193,206

Brothers, Richard 70Brunton, Paul 196Buddha 8, 96-7, 119Buddhism 28, 73, 79, 80, 111,

187-8, 242

cakras 166, 230Calcutta Unitarian Mission 53Campbell, Colin 32, 34-6, 72-3,

262Ceccomori, Silvia 6, 183, 262Chicago Parliament of Religions

(1893) 3, 50, 110-12Chinmoy, Sri 187-8Christian science 112-13, 160Christianity 30, 52-5, 70-1,

78-80, 100-1, 107, 134Church of the New

Dispensation 52, 68, 80, 99classical yoga 8, 28, 218, 219, 248,

257Classical Yoga 150, 154, 169,

178-80, 206, 239difference between classical yoga

and Classical Yoga 37-38classroom format

in modern postural yoga 187,249-52

cult 8, 31-3definition 32

cultic milieu 8, 34-6, 47, 55-6, 68,74-80, 110-26, 189

definition 34Indian cultic milieus

Bengal 47,55-6,68

Calcutta, Bombay,Madras 47, 56

Dall, Charles 81Datta, Narendranath see

Vivekananda, Swamidhdrana 168, 239, 242, 245dharma 226-7Dharma Ntti 62dhydna 8, 168, 177, 227, 239,

242, 245Divine Life Society 7Douglas, Mary 255Dow, Alexander 43Dru Yoga 190Duff, Alexander 56, 94Dutt, Akkhoykumar 59, 62-3, 87Dvaita 131-2Dvivedi, Manilal N. 140, 178,

263-4

East-West dialoguebetween esotericists 10, 17, 20,

30, 40-50, 52-6, 71-3, 109,119-23

eight limbs of yoga see astdngayogaEliade, Mircea 11, 258,"264Emerson, Ralph Waldo 55, 81,

115, 171concept of Over-Soul 81, 115,

169influence on Brahmos 55

emic/etic terminology 7-8, 12, 26,117, 182, 259-60

definition 7-8Enlightenment, the 25-31, 40, 42,

45, 46, 52-3, 158enthusiasm 33, 49, 65-6, 74Esdaile, James 137esoteric myopia 9-12, 19, 67esotericism 8-13, 19-50, 51-90,

91-126basic characteristics 21-4

vs esoterism 24what it is not 23-4

in classical and modernHinduism 27-31

276

INDEX

East-West dialogue betweenesotericists see East-Westdialogue

India as 'esoteric Other' 71-3Neo-Vedantic see Neo-Vedantic

Hinduismsecularisation into occultism

25-7,45-50, 110-26evolutionary spirituality 26-7,

60-1

Faivre, Antoine 19-23, 27, 264'four yogas' model 87,123-6,180,

182vs 'three yogas' model 180

Freemasonry 68-70, 100Fuchs, Christian 6, 264Functionalist psychology 151,168,

171-3

Gheranda Samhitd 218God-realization 14, 100, 123-4,

127-46, 223-4, 244, 260see also realization theme; Self-

realizationGokhale, Dr V.B. (MD) 197-8grhastha brahmavddin 49, 79Gupta, M. 104-7, 142, 144, 265gurus

in Modern Yoga 189, 192-4Neo-Vedantic 72, 74-80

Halbfass, Wilhelm 10, 19, 30, 36,38-40, 52, 132, 176-7, 265

Halhed, Nathaniel 70Hanegraaff, Wouter 7, 12-13,

20-36, 72-3, 81, 115-17, 168,171-2, 185-6, 265

Hardy, Friedhelm 36-7, 131, 265Harmonial Religion 114-16, 151,

160-1, 208-9, 231-2, 235, 250Hasselle-Newcombe, Suzanne 6,

194, 265-6Hastings, Warren 43-4, 266Hatha Yoga Pradipikd 218, 257hathayoga 8, 150, 166-7, 178-80,

208-9, 217-18, 227-31, 257

see also Neo-HathayogaHermetic Society 118Himalayan Institute 188Hinduism

classical vs modern 8-12,27-31, 36-40, 73

see also Brahmo Samaj; ModernHindu Traditionalism; NeoHinduism; Neo-VedanticHinduism

holistic medicine 184-5Holwell, John Zephaniah 43Horwell, Veronica 249, 266hypnosis 160, 168, 178

International Society for KrishnaConsciousness (ISKCON) 188

lyangar, Srinivasa 163, 266lyengar, B.K.S 15, 190, 194-247,

252-60, 266-7analysis of his Modern Yoga

trilogy 208-47,252-60developmental phases of lyengar

Yogaacculturation 205-7, 236-47consolidation 200-4, 224-35popularisation 198-200,

210-26and Gokhale, Dr 197-8and Krishnamacharya 195-7and Krishnamurti 198, 203-4and Neo-Hathayoga 208-10,

225-7, 236-47and Neo-Visistadvaita 243-7,

258and Sivananda of Rishikesh,

Swami 197, 203and Yogananda, Swami 196

lyengar School of Yoga 4, 15,187-8, 190-1, 194-207

James, William 171-3jhdnayoga 125, 132, 178, 180,

182Jois, Pattabhi 187-8, 190Jones, William 42-3Judge, William Quan 47, 178

277

INDEX

Kaivalyadhama Shrimad MadhavaYoga Mandir Samiti(Lonavla) 183, 188, 197

karma 59-60karmayoga 86, 124, 180, 182Kent, Howard 192Kopf, David 9, 29-30, 36-8, 40-2,

67-8, 78, 267-8Krishnamacharya, Tirumalai

195-7Krishnamurti, Jiddu 198, 203-4kriydyoga 240, 244-5kundalinl 167, 170, 175, 243

Light of Asia, The 96-7, 119Light on Prdndydma 202-3,

208-9, 224-35, 266analysis of text 224-35in lyengar Yoga history 224-5as Neo-Hathayoga 225-30Prdna Model 230-35,238

Light on the Yoga Sutras ofPatanjali 206, 236-47, 253,266

analysis of text 236-47in lyengar Yoga history 236Samddhi Model 236-47

Light on Yoga 198-9, 203,208-24, 266

analysis of text 208-24in lyengar Yoga history 210-11as manual of psychosomatic self-

help 211-18Neo-Vedantic ethics 220-4self-improvement 221-4

Light on Yoga Association 205

Madhavadasji of Malsar 183meditation 8, 187, 238-9, 242-4,

257Menuhin, Yehudi 198, 204, 211Mesmeric Hospital (Calcutta) 137mesmerism 114-16, 136-7,

151, 160-4, 178, 227, 231-2,235

four basic principles 161in Raja Yoga 160-4

Metaphysical beliefs 115-16,121-2, 151, 160, 168-71

Modern Hindu Traditionalism38-40

Modern Postural Yoga 4, 8,15-16, 183, 187-95, 198-247

classroom format 187, 249-52concept of 'stress' in 217,

249-50in everyday life 248-51in lyengar's Modern Yoga

trilogy 208-47as Neo-Hathayoga 8, 208-10,

225-30, 236-47as psychosomatic self-help

211-12, 217-18as secularised healing

ritual 252-60structure of practice session

incorporation phase 257-60separation phase 252-4transition phase 254-7

three elements of success 248-51Modern Yoga 1-9, 33, 125, 137,

147-260developmental phases

acculturation 193-4, 205-7,236-47

consolidation 192-3, 220-4,224-35

popularization 191-2,198-200, 210-26

as global phenomenon 205important dates 36-8, 191-4Indian aspects 1-6, 182-3, 188,

197scholarship on 6-7, 197schools of 188,190-4statistics 194typology

Modern DenominationalYoga 188-9

Modern Meditational Yoga 8,187-9

Modern Postural Yoga 4, 8,15-16, 183, 187-95,198-247

278

INDEX

Modern PsychosomaticYoga 187-9, 236, 246

see also Kaivalyadhama;meditation; ModernPostural Yoga; protoModern Yoga; YogaInstitute

moksa 176-7, 133, 140, 143, 185Mozoomdar, Protapchandra 77,

79

nadis 166, 230Naturphilosophie 156-9Nava Vidhan see Church of the New

DispensationNeo-Advaitic model 153-4, 169,

175-6see also Advaita

Neo-Buddhism 73Neo-Hathayoga 8, 208-10,

225-30, 236-47see also hathayoga

Neo-Hinduism 30, 36-40, 45-50,71-3

see also Brahmo Samaj; Neo-Vedantic Hinduism

Neo-Sannydsa 79Neo-Vedantic Hinduism 12-15,

20, 30, 37-40, 45-126, 137-8,158

Christian influences 30, 52-6,70-1, 107, 137-8

Enlightenment influences 25-31,52-6, 158

occultism influences 110-26Romanticism influences 46-9,

56-67"spiritualism" influences 45-52,

65-90see also Brahmo Samaj; Neo-

HinduismNeo-Visistadvaita synthesis 243-7

see also VisistadvaitaNew Age religion 35-6, 121, 125,

145, 183-6, 189, 201vs New Age movement 35-6,

183-6

New Thought movement 116,122, 168-71, 174-5, 182

Nikhilananda, Swami 104-6, 144,179

occultism 8, 11-13, 25-7, 110-26definition 26

"occultism" 117-19definition 117

orientalism see British orientalismOver-Soul 81, 115, 169

padmasana 8, 232-3Pala, Navina Chandra

(N.C.Paul) 136-7Parliament of Religions (1893) see

Chicago Parliament of ReligionsPatanjali 14, 38, 143, 149-50,

168-9, 178-80, 222, 236-47,269

Patanjali invocation 254prdna 28, 151-4, 157, 159-71,

230-5, 238as healing agent 163-5as vitalistic element 160-3

Prdna Modelin lyengar Yoga 230-5, 238in Vivekananda 14, 151-4, 157,

159-71prandydma 160-1, 165-8, 187,

224-35, 242-3as healing technique 165-8

prakrti 154-5, 169, 226proto Modern Yoga 13, 49,

83-90definition 13scientistic 136

purusa 153-4, 169, 226

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli 128Rainsford, Charles 69-70Raja-Yoga (Dvivedi) 140Raja Yoga (Vivekananda) 3,

13-15, 50, 110, 124-5, 149-80,254

and classical Vedanta 176-80

279

INDEX

emanationist cosmology 153-5influence of Functionalist

psychology 171-3influence of mesmerism 160-4influence of Metaphysical

beliefs 169-71as Naturphilosophie 156-9Neo-Advaitic Model 153-4,

169, 175-6Pram Model 14, 151-4, 157,

159-71Samadhi Model 153-4, 157,

168-75and Yoga Sutras 143-4, 151-90

rdjayoga 129, 141, 143-4,149-80, 182

Ramakrishna 11-12, 49-50, 78,93, 100-8, 129-30, 132, 140-6

and realization theme 129-30and Vivekananda 11-12,

49-50, 93, 100-8, 140-6Ramakrishna movement 3, 11, 50,

83, 89, 100, 104-7, 128, 130,144, 150

definition of 3Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga

Institute 200, 269Ramana Maharashi 129Ramanuja 176-7, 244Rambachan, Anantanand 92,

127-9, 270realization theme 127-46

see also God-realization; Self-realization

Roy, Rammohan 10, 13, 19,39_41? 46, 49, 52-6, 66, 133-5

interpretation of Hinduism133-5

as modernizer 39-40and Neo-Vedantic

Enlightenment 52-6, 66and realization theme 133-5

Sadhan Kanan 79, 86-7, 99Sadharan Brahmo Samaj 51, 62,

68, 78, 99Sahaja Yoga 188

Said, Edward 9samadhi 14, 129, 141-3, 153-4,

157, 165-75, 227, 236-47, 254Samadhi Model

in lyengar Yoga 227, 236-47in Vivekananda 153-4, 157,

168-75Sdmkhya-Yoga 153-7, 169-70,

172sampraddya 140-6samyama 169, 220, 239, 242-6Sangat Sabha 77Sankara 19, 129, 132, 141, 176-7,

178savdsana 217, 251, 257-9Schwab, Raymond 10-11, 30Schwarmerei see enthusiasmscientific religion 62-4Scottish Yoga Teachers Association

190sect 8, 31-5

definition 32Self-realization 14, 115, 121,

124-5, 127-46, 223-4, 233,243-6, 260

see also God-realization;realization theme

Sen, Keshubchandra 5, 13, 17,45-52, 65-8, 74-90, 107-10,137-9, 270

and AmericanTranscendentalism 80-3

as charismatic leader 74-8and Charles Dall 81and Church of the New

Dispensation 80Kopf's appraisal of 67-8and Neo-Hindu ashrams 49, 79,

86, 99-100and Neo-Vedantic "spiritualism"

45-52, 65-90and proto Modern Yoga 13, 49,

83-90psychologization of religion

81-3and realization theme 137-9religious career 77-90

280

INDEX

threefold model of revelation82-6

and Vivekananda 49-50, 87-9,99-100, 107, 109-10, 145-6

Sil, Naraningha P. 50, 92, 96-7,103, 106-8, 127, 271

Sivananda of Rishikesh, Swami 7,188, 197, 203

Sivananda Yoga 188, 190, 271Smart, Ninian 11-12, 271spiritualism 113-19, 160

definition 117"spiritualism" 29-35, 49, 65-90,

117, 134, 137definition 24-5

Strauss, Sarah 6-7, 271stress 217,249-50"superconsciousness" 168-77Swedenborg, Emanuel 60, 114-15Sweetman, Will 9, 272

Tagore, Debendranath 5, 13,45-49, 51, 56-67, 74, 108,135-7

doctrinal and ritualinnovations 58-67

evolutionary spirituality 59-62and initiation 64-6, 108and intuitional epistemology 59and Neo-Vedantic romanticism

46-9, 56-67and realization theme 135-7and scientific religion 62-4

Tagore, Satyendranath 57, 63, 67Tattvabodhini Sabha 51The Light of Asia 96-7, 119The Precepts of Jesus 52-3, 134Theosophical Society 10-11, 14,

47, 112-13, 118, 140, 154,162-3, 203

Thoreau, Henry Davidfirst Western practitioner of

yoga 2-3, 81'three yogas'

vs 'four yogas' model 180Transcendental Meditation 187-8

Transcendentalism see AmericanTranscendentalism

Unitarianism 43, 46, 53-5, 75, 81,92,134

and Brahmo Samaj 53-5, 75Calcutta Unitarian Mission 53central ideas 54-5Charles Dall 81

Upanisads 59-60, 131, 133,176-7, 218, 258

van Gennep, Arnoldmodel of ritual 252, 258-9

Veddntacandrikd 40Vedantasara 40, 52Vedas 58-9, 129, 131Vidyasagar, Ishwarchandra 94Viniyoga Britain 190, 222Vishnudevananda, Swami 199Visistadvaita 131, 177, 219,

244See also Neo-Visistadvaita

synthesisVivekanada, Swami 3-5, 11-14,

46, 49-50, 64-6, 87-9, 91-132,138-46, 149-80, 254

act of renunciation 107at Chicago Parliament of

Religions (1893) 3, 50,110-12

esoteric biography 93-126influence of Western

occultism 50, 110-19initiation 105-8model of 'four yogas' 87, 122-6,

180,182Modern Yoga formulated

149-80and Naturphilosophie 156-9and Neo-Vedantic occultism

110-126pervasiveness of his

influence 127-8plans for social uplift of

India 108-9and Prdna Model 14, 151-4,

157, 159-71

281

INDEX

Raja Yoga 3, 13-15, 50, 110, Yoga and Health (formerly Yoga124-5, 149-80, 254 Today) 192

and Ramakrishna 11-12, Yoga for Health Foundation49-50, 93, 100-8, 140-6 (Ickwell Bury) 192

and realization theme 121, Yoga Institute (Santa Cruz,124-32, 138-46 Bombay) 182-3, 188, 197

and Samadhi Model 153-4,157, Yoga Journal 190168-75 yoga of the eight limbs see

and Sen 49-50, 87-9, 99-100, astdngayoga107, 109-10, 145-6 Yoga Sutras 4, 14, 38, 143-4,

'turn West' 13, 119-23 151-90, 209, 218-22, 236-47and Raja Yoga 143-4, 151-90

Wilson, H. H. 42, 147 as rdjayoga textbook 178-80Woulfe, Peter 70 and Light on the Yoga Sutras of

Patanjali 236-47yoga see Modern Postural Yoga; Yogananda, Swami 196

Modern Yoga Yogendra, Jayadeva 183

282

Documents

History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism